[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Yamada, Akihiro"]
[Black "Shibuya, Kaisei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D26"]
[WhiteElo "1970"]
[BlackElo "1529"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "49"]

{D26: Queen's Gambit Accepted: 4 e3 e6 5 Bxc5 c5 sidelines} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4
3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Qe2 (7. Qc2 b6 8. Nc3 Bb7 9. Rd1
Bxf3 10. gxf3 c6 11. f4 g6 12. e4 b5 13. Be2 a6 14. Bf3 Qc7 15. Be3 a5 16. Qe2
Nbd7 17. d5 b4 18. dxc6 bxc3 19. cxd7 Nxd7 20. Rac1 e5 21. Rxc3 Qb7 {Popov,V 
(2589)-Starostits,I (2507) Dresden 2007 1-0 (31)}) 7... Nbd7 $146 (7... a6 8.
a4 b6 (8... c5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. e4 Nc6 11. e5 Nd5 12. Rd1 Ncb4 13. Nc3 b6 14.
Bg5 Qc7 15. Rac1 Bb7 16. Ne4 Rfc8 17. a5 Qc6 18. Bxd5 Nxd5 19. Nd6 Rc7 20. Rc4
Qd7 21. axb6 Bxb6 22. Rg4 Bc5 23. Bh6 {Huss,A (2340)-Boguslavsky,O (2325)
Germany 2004 1/2-1/2 (72)}) 9. Rd1 Bb7 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. e4 Ne8 12. e5 b5 13.
axb5 axb5 14. Rxa8 Qxa8 15. Bxb5 Nb6 16. Bd3 Nd5 17. Ne4 g6 18. Bh6 Ng7 19. Bg5
Bxg5 20. Nfxg5 h6 21. Nh3 Nf5 22. Bb1 {Kostiuk,T (2245)-Kovalenko,N (2207)
Kharkov 2003 1/2-1/2 (38)}) (7... c5 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. e4 Nc6 10. e5 Nd5 11. Qe4
Na5 12. Ng5 g6 13. Qh4 h5 14. Bxd5 exd5 15. b4 Be7 16. bxa5 f6 17. Nf3 fxe5 18.
Qg3 Bf5 19. Nxe5 h4 20. Qb3 Qxa5 21. Bb2 Rad8 22. Nc3 {Souza,A (2331)-Chemin,V
(2193) Curitiba 2010 1-0}) 8. Nc3 Nb6 9. Bb3 c6 {Consolidates b5+d5} 10. e4 Qc7
11. h3 {Prevents intrusion on g4} c5 12. Be3 {Black has a cramped position} Rd8
(12... c4 13. Bc2 $16) 13. Rac1 (13. Nb5 $142 Qb8 14. dxc5 $16) 13... Qc6 $4 (
13... c4 $142 {and Black can hope to survive} 14. Bc2 Bd7 $14) 14. dxc5 $18
Bxc5 (14... Nbd7 15. Nd4 Qc7 16. Ncb5 $18) 15. Bxc5 (15. Nb5 $142 {makes it
even easier for White} Nbd7 16. e5 $18) 15... Qxc5 16. Nd5 Qf8 17. Nxf6+ gxf6
18. Rfd1 (18. Nh2 Bd7 $16) 18... Bd7 (18... Rxd1+ 19. Qxd1 Bd7 20. e5 $16) 19.
Nd4 Qg7 (19... Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Qh5 $16) 20. Rc3 Kh8 21. Rg3 (21. Rc7 $5
$18) 21... Qh6 $16 22. Nb5 (22. e5 $142 $16) 22... Nc8 $4 (22... Bxb5 $142 {
would save the game} 23. Qxb5 Rxd1+ 24. Bxd1 Qc1 $11) 23. Qg4 Qg6 $4 {Black
has lost his nerve... understandable when you consider his position} (23... Ne7
24. Nd6 Be8 $18) 24. Qf4 Qh5 25. Qxf6# 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Hakamada, Eiji"]
[Black "Yoshii, Yukihiko"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A53"]
[WhiteElo "1432"]
[BlackElo "1828"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "123"]

{A53: Old Indian Defence without Nf3} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 Be7 4. Nf3 d6
5. d4 Bg4 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. Bg5 $146 {Black has a cramped position} (7. Be3 O-O 8.
h3 (8. O-O Bh5 (8... Re8 9. d5 Nf8 (9... a5 10. Ne1 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 c6 12. b3
cxd5 13. cxd5 a4 14. Nd3 Qa5 15. Qb2 a3 16. Qd2 Rec8 17. Rac1 Bd8 18. Rc2 h6
19. f3 Bb6 20. Rfc1 Rc7 21. Bxb6 Qxb6+ 22. Qf2 Qa6 23. Nd1 Rxc2 24. Qxc2 {
Gipslis,A (2580)-Fernandez,C (2370) Havana 1971 1-0 (40)}) 10. h3 Bd7 11. b4
Ng6 12. c5 c6 13. Qb3 cxd5 14. exd5 Nf4 15. Bc4 N6h5 16. Ne4 b5 17. cxb6 axb6
18. a4 f5 19. Nc3 Bf6 20. a5 bxa5 21. bxa5 e4 22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. Bxd4 {
Najgebauer,S (2187)-Mrva,M (2435) Slovakia 2012 0-1}) 9. d5 Bg6 10. Nd2 Ne8 11.
Bg4 Kh8 12. Bh3 Ndf6 13. g3 Ng8 14. Qe2 Bg5 15. f4 exf4 16. gxf4 Bh6 17. Rae1
Nef6 18. e5 Bh5 19. Qg2 Nd7 20. Kh1 Re8 21. Rg1 g6 22. e6 fxe6 {Kortschnoj,V 
(2585)-Speelman,J (2630) Roquebrune 1992 1-0 (62)}) 8... Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Re8 10.
d5 Nf8 11. g3 N6d7 12. Qd2 Nb6 13. b3 Nfd7 14. Bg2 Bf6 15. O-O h6 16. Kh2 Bg5
17. f4 Bf6 18. f5 Bg5 19. Bxg5 Qxg5 20. Qxg5 hxg5 21. Bf3 Kf8 {Gruenfeld,
E-Lasker,E Moscow 1925 1/2-1/2 (99)}) (7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 c6 9. b3 Ne8 10. Bb2
Nc7 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. Bxg4 Qxd1 14. Bxd1 Nd3 15. Re2 Rfe8 16. Rb1
Nxb2 17. Rexb2 Bf6 18. Rc2 Bxc3 19. Rxc3 Rxe4 20. Bf3 Rd4 21. b4 Rad8 {Simic,R
(2485)-Kovacevic,V (2555) Medulin 1983 0-1 (48)}) 7... h6 {Black threatens to
win material: h6xg5} 8. Be3 O-O {Black has a cramped position} 9. h3 {White
threatens to win material: h3xg4} Bh5 {Black has a cramped position} 10. O-O c6
{Covers b5+d5} 11. dxe5 {White forks: d6+f6} dxe5 {White has an active
position.} 12. Qc2 {White has a very active position} (12. Nh4 Bxe2 13. Qxe2
Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Bxh4 $14) 12... Qc7 {White has an active position} 13. Rad1 Rfd8
14. Nh4 Bxe2 {Black forks: d1, f1+c4} 15. Nxe2 Nc5 16. Bxc5 Bxc5 17. a3 {
Controls b4} a5 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. Kh1 g6 {Black threatens to win material: g6xf5}
20. Ne3 Qe7 21. Nc3 Rac8 22. Qe2 Rd4 23. Nc2 Rd7 24. Rxd7 Qxd7 25. Rd1 {
White threatens to win material: Rd1xd7} Qe6 26. Na4 b5 27. cxb5 (27. Nc3 $5
$15 {should be investigated more closely}) 27... cxb5 $17 28. Nc3 Qc6 (28...
Qb3 $5 29. Ne3 Bxa3 $17) 29. Rd2 $11 b4 30. axb4 Bxb4 31. Nxb4 axb4 32. Nd5
Nxd5 33. Rxd5 {White can be proud of that piece} (33. exd5 Qd6 $11) 33... Kg7 (
33... Qc1+ 34. Rd1 Rc2 35. Rxc1 Rxe2 36. b3 $17) 34. Qd2 (34. Kh2 Qc1 35. Qd2
Qxd2 36. Rxd2 b3 $15) 34... Qc1+ (34... b3 35. Rd3 Qxe4 36. f3 $17) 35. Kh2 $15
Qxd2 {Black has a mate threat} 36. Rxd2 {A rook endgame occured} Rc4 37. f3 h5
38. Kg3 (38. h4 f5 39. exf5 gxf5 $11) 38... g5 (38... f5 39. Rd7+ Kh6 40. Rd5
fxe4 41. fxe4 Rxe4 42. Kf3 $11) 39. Rf2 (39. h4 gxh4+ 40. Kxh4 Rd4 $11) 39...
b3 (39... h4+ $142 40. Kh2 Rc1 $15) 40. Rd2 $4 (40. Re2 $142 $11 {and White
can hope to live}) 40... Rc2 $19 41. Rd5 $2 (41. Rd6 Rxb2 42. Rb6 h4+ 43. Kg4
Rxg2+ 44. Kf5 b2 $19) 41... f6 (41... h4+ $142 {and the rest is a matter of
technique} 42. Kh2 f6 $19) 42. Rd7+ Kg6 43. Rd8 $2 (43. Rb7 $142 Rxb2 44. Kh2
$19) 43... h4+ 44. Kh2 Rxb2 45. Rg8+ (45. Rd3 $19) 45... Kf7 46. Rb8 Rb1 (46...
Ke7 $5 {might be the shorter path} 47. Rb6 $19) 47. Rb7+ Kg6 (47... Ke6 {
seems even better} 48. Rb6+ Kd7 49. Rxf6 $19) 48. Rb8 $2 (48. g4 $142 $19)
48... b2 49. Rg8+ Kf7 50. Rb8 Ke7 51. Rb6 Kd7 52. Rb3 Kc6 53. Rb8 Kc5 54. Rc8+
Kd4 55. Rb8 Kd3 56. Rd8+ Ke2 57. Rb8 Kd2 58. Rd8+ Kc2 59. Rc8+ Kd2 60. Rd8+ Ke2
{Twofold repetition} 61. Rb8 Kf2 62. Rb7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Aoki, Yasuhiro"]
[Black "Koyahata, Taku"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "1778"]
[BlackElo "1349"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "65"]

{A29: English Opening: Four Knights Variation with 4 g3} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 3.
Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. d3 h6 8. Bd2 (8. e3 a6 9. h3 Ba7 10.
Kh2 Be6 11. b3 d5 12. Ba3 Re8 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Rc1 Nxc3 15. Rxc3 Bd5 16. Qc2
Bb6 17. Rc1 Qf6 18. Ne1 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Rad8 20. Rc4 Qe6 21. Qe2 Rd5 22. Bc5 Red8
{Karpov,A (2780)-Illescas Cordoba,M (2595) Dos Hermanas 1995 1/2-1/2 (54)})
8... Be6 (8... a5 9. Rc1 Bf5 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne7 12. Nxe5 Bxf2+ 13. Rxf2
dxe5 14. Qc2 c6 15. dxc6 bxc6 16. Qa4 Be6 17. Be3 Bd5 18. Bh3 Ng6 19. Bc5 Qg5
20. e3 Rfb8 21. b3 Rb5 22. Qa3 e4 23. Bf1 {Kirschner,A (2260)-Wertjanz,D (2209)
Austria 2011 1/2-1/2 (60)}) 9. Ne1 $146 (9. a3 a5 10. Rc1 Qd7 11. e3 Bf5 12.
Qc2 Rfe8 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. cxd5 Nd8 15. e4 Bg4 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. fxe3 c5 18. Nh4
b5 19. Nf5 a4 20. Qf2 Rb8 21. Rc2 b4 22. Nxg7 Kxg7 23. Qf6+ Kh7 {Wegerer,F 
(2240)-Pezerovic,E (2435) Munich 1993 0-1 (48)}) 9... Qd7 10. Nc2 Bh3 11. Ne3
Bxg2 12. Kxg2 {White king safety dropped} Rfe8 13. Ned5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Re6 15.
b4 {White threatens to win material: b4xc5} Bd4 {Black threatens to win
material: Bd4xa1} 16. Rb1 a6 (16... Ne7 17. e3 Bb6 18. a4 $11) 17. Qa4 Rc8 18.
e3 {White threatens to win material: e3xd4} Ba7 19. b5 {White threatens to win
material: b5xc6. White forks: a6+c6} Nb8 (19... Ne7 20. Qb3 $14) 20. Rfc1 c6 $4
(20... Bc5 $142 $14 {would bring relief}) 21. b6 $18 cxd5 22. Qxd7 Nxd7 23.
bxa7 Nb6 (23... Ree8 {there is nothing else anyway} 24. cxd5 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Kf8
$18) 24. Rxb6 (24. cxd5 $142 {keeps an even firmer grip} Ree8 25. Rxb6 Ra8 26.
Rxb7 Kh7 27. Rxf7 Rf8 28. Rxf8 Rxa7 $18) 24... Re7 25. Rcb1 (25. cxd5 $142 {
and the result of the game is clear: White will win} Ra8 26. Bb4 Rd7 27. Bxd6
Rxa7 28. Rc8+ Kh7 $18) 25... Ra8 26. Rxb7 Rxa7 27. Rxa7 Rxa7 28. cxd5 Kf8 29.
Rb6 Ke7 (29... f6 {does not help much} 30. Rxd6 Kf7 31. Kf3 $18) 30. Bb4 f6 31.
Rxd6 Ke8 32. Bc5 Rb7 (32... Rc7 {is not the saving move} 33. d4 $18) 33. Rxa6 (
33. Rxa6 Rb5 34. Ra8+ Kd7 35. Ra7+ Kc8 36. d4 exd4 37. Bxd4 Rxd5 38. Rxg7 $18)
1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Ito, Katsuhide"]
[Black "Manabe, Hiroaki"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B02"]
[WhiteElo "1328"]
[BlackElo "1755"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "66"]

{B02: Alekhine's Defence: Chase Variation and lines with early Nc3} 1. e4 Nf6
2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 4. Nge2 e5 (4... e6 5. g3 Nxc3 6. Nxc3 Bd7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
O-O Nc6 9. Re1 Nd4 10. Bd5 Bc6 11. Bxc6+ Nxc6 12. d3 Be7 13. Be3 O-O 14. Ne4 b6
{1/2-1/2 (14) Keres,P (2615)-Marovic,D (2475) Yerevan 1971}) (4... Nb6 5. g3
Bg4 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. h3 Bh5 8. d3 e5 9. Be3 Be7 10. Qd2 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. g4 Bg6
13. f4 exf4 14. Nxf4 Bg5 15. Rae1 Qd6 16. Nxg6 Rxe3 17. Rxe3 Qd4 18. Nf4 Nc4
19. Qf2 {Popov,S (2188)-Stojanovic,V (2205) Stari Banovci 2013 1/2-1/2}) 5. d4
$146 (5. Nxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc3 Qd6 7. Bc4 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nd5 Be6 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7
11. Bxe6 Qxe6 12. d4 Rd8 13. Qf3 e4 14. Qg3 Rxd4 15. Qxc7 Nc6 16. Qxb7 Rb8 17.
Qc7 Rc8 18. Qg3 Rc4 19. c3 Ne7 {Ambrus,E (2376)-Grunberg,M (2381) Sovata 2001
0-1 (51)}) 5... Nxc3 6. bxc3 {White's piece can't move: f1} Nc6 7. g3 (7. d5 $5
{has some apparent merit} Na5 8. Ng3 $11) 7... Qd5 $17 8. Rg1 Bg4 9. Qd3 O-O-O
(9... exd4 10. Bg2 Qe6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. f3 $17) 10. Bg2 $15 Qd6 (10... Qd7
$142 11. Rb1 a6 $15) 11. f4 $2 (11. Rb1 a6 $11) 11... Bxe2 $4 {throwing away
the advantage} (11... exd4 $142 $5 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. cxd4 Qxd4 14. Qxd4 Rxd4
$19) 12. Qf5+ (12. Kxe2 exd4 13. Qf5+ Kb8 $15) 12... Kb8 (12... Rd7 $5 13. fxe5
Nxd4 14. exd6 Nxf5 15. Kxe2 Bxd6 $17) 13. fxe5 $15 Nxe5 (13... Nxd4 $142 14.
exd6 Nxf5 15. dxc7+ Kxc7 16. Kxe2 Bc5 $11) 14. Qxe5 $4 {releasing the pressure
on the opponent} (14. Kxe2 $142 {would allow White to play on} Qa6+ 15. Ke1 $11
) 14... Qxe5 $17 15. dxe5 Bg4 (15... Bc5 16. Kxe2 Bxg1 17. Bf4 $17) 16. Bg5 (
16. Be3 Re8 17. Bd4 c5 $17) 16... Rd7 (16... Re8 17. Be3 Rxe5 18. Kd2 $19) 17.
Rb1 (17. Be3 $17) 17... c5 (17... Bc5 $142 $5 18. Rxb7+ Kc8 $19) 18. h3 {
White threatens to win material: h3xg4} (18. Kf2 c4 19. Be3 Ba3 $11) 18... Bf5
19. Rb2 Be7 {Black threatens to win material: Be7xg5} 20. Bxb7 Bxg5 {Black
wins a piece} 21. Bc6+ $4 (21. Be4+ $142 $1 {this is the best way to fight back
} Kc7 22. Bxf5 $11) 21... Kc7 $19 22. Bxd7 Bxd7 23. h4 Bh6 24. Kf2 Re8 25. Rgb1
Bc6 26. Re1 $2 (26. c4 $19) 26... Bd2 27. Rd1 Bxc3 28. Rb3 Bd4+ 29. Kf1 (29.
Ke2 {does not improve anything} Bxe5 30. Kd2 c4 $19) 29... Rxe5 30. c3 (30. Rd2
{hardly improves anything} Bd5 31. Ra3 a6 $19) 30... Rf5+ 31. Ke1 (31. Ke2 {
is not much help} Bf3+ 32. Kd2 Bxc3+ 33. Rxc3 Rd5+ 34. Kc1 Bxd1 $19) 31... Bf2+
32. Ke2 (32. Kd2 {praying for a miracle} Rd5+ 33. Ke2 Rxd1 34. Ra3 $19) 32...
Bf3+ 33. Kd2 Rd5+ (33... Rd5+ 34. Kc1 Rxd1+ 35. Kc2 Bxg3 $19) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Watanabe, Katsumi"]
[Black "Sato, Takeru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A52"]
[WhiteElo "1732"]
[BlackElo "1230"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "45"]

{A52: Budapest Gambit} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. f4 Bb4+ $146 (4... Bc5
5. Nh3 Nc6 6. e4 d6 7. e6 Bxe6 8. f5 Nge5 9. fxe6 Qh4+ 10. Kd2 Nd4 11. exf7+
Nxf7 12. Bd3 Ng5 13. Nxg5 Qxg5+ 14. Kc3 Qe5 15. Na3 a5 16. Bb1 O-O 17. Kd3 Rf2
18. Be3 Re8 19. Qg4 {Violla Cunha,M (2322)-Martins,J (2230) Rio de Janeiro
2015 0-1 (32)}) (4... Bc5 $142 $5 {is interesting} 5. Nh3 d6 $15) 5. Nc3 $14
O-O 6. Nf3 b6 7. e3 (7. h3 Nh6 $16) 7... Bb7 (7... Na6 8. Be2 $16) 8. Be2 (8.
Bd3 $5 $16) 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 d6 10. exd6 Re8 (10... cxd6 11. O-O Qe7 12. Bd3
$11) 11. Qd3 (11. c5 $5 Nd7 12. Ng5 $14) 11... Be4 {Black threatens to win
material: Be4xd3} 12. Qd1 cxd6 13. O-O Qf6 $4 (13... Nc6 $142 $11 {was
necessary}) 14. Ng5 $18 Nh6 (14... Bf5 15. e4 Nxh2 16. Kxh2 Bd7 $18) 15. Nxe4
Rxe4 16. Bf3 (16. Qd5 $5 {might be the shorter path} Nc6 17. Qxe4 Rc8 $18)
16... Rxc4 (16... Qe6 {the last chance for counterplay} 17. c5 Nd7 18. Qxd6
Qxd6 19. cxd6 Nf6 $18) 17. Bxa8 Nf5 (17... Rc8 {doesn't do any good} 18. Qd4
Qe6 19. Bd5 $18) 18. Bf3 (18. e4 $142 {and White can already relax} Qxc3 19.
Rb1 $18) 18... Rxc3 (18... Nd7 $18 {no good, but what else?}) 19. Bb2 Nxe3 (
19... b5 {cannot change destiny} 20. Qd2 b4 21. Bxc3 bxc3 22. Rac1 $18) 20.
Bxc3 Qxc3 21. Qc1 (21. Qxd6 h6 22. Rac1 Nc2 23. Qxb8+ Kh7 24. Be4+ g6 25. Bxc2
Qd4+ 26. Kh1 Qf6 27. Bd3 Kg7 28. f5 gxf5 29. Rc8 Kh7 30. Rg8 a5 31. Rxf5 Qa1+
32. Rf1+ f5 33. Bxf5#) 21... Nc2 22. Rb1 Nd7 (22... Qc5+ {doesn't change
anything anymore} 23. Rf2 Nd4 24. Qe1 Nxf3+ 25. gxf3 $18) 23. Rf2 (23. Rf2 Nf8
24. Qxc2 $18) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Kimura, Yusei"]
[Black "Sato, Tsubasa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C24"]
[WhiteElo "1009"]
[BlackElo "1677"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "94"]

{C24: Bishop's Opening: 2...Nf6} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 h6 (3... d5 4. exd5
c6 5. dxc6 Nxc6 6. Nc3 Bc5 7. Be3 Bxe3 8. fxe3 Qb6 9. Qc1 O-O 10. h3 Na5 11.
Bb3 Nh5 12. Nge2 Qf6 13. Ne4 Qh4+ 14. g3 Nxb3 15. axb3 Qe7 16. Qd2 f5 17. N4c3
f4 18. exf4 {Perovic,D (2345)-Hector,J (2395) Malmo 1986 0-1}) 4. Nf3 (4. f4
Nc6 5. Nf3 exf4 6. Bxf4 d6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3 Na5 9. Bb3 Nxb3 10. axb3 Bg4 11.
h3 Bh5 12. Qd2 O-O 13. Nd4 Bg6 14. Rae1 Nh5 15. Be3 Bh4 16. Ra1 a6 17. Nf5 Ng3
18. Rf3 Bxf5 {Mitkov,N (2520)-Klossner,J (2171) Bern 2004 1-0 (39)}) 4... d6 5.
h3 $146 {Consolidates g4} (5. O-O Be7 6. h3 O-O 7. Be3 Nc6 8. c3 a6 9. b4 d5
10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Qb3 Be6 12. a4 f5 13. a5 Qd7 14. Nbd2 Rad8 15. Bc5 Rfe8 16.
Bxe7 Rxe7 17. Rfe1 Bf7 18. Rad1 Kh8 19. Ne4 b6 {Ranieri,F (2165)-Everet,A 
(2348) Bratto 2000 0-1}) 5... b6 6. b4 Bb7 7. Nc3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Re8 10.
d4 {White threatens to win material: d4xe5} Nbd7 {Black has a cramped position}
11. Ba3 (11. d5 a5 12. Ba3 Qc8 $11) 11... a6 {Secures b5} 12. Bd5 (12. d5 b5
13. Bb3 Nb6 $11) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 Bf6 14. Kf1 $2 (14. Bb2 $5 $15) 14... b5 (
14... exd4 15. Rxe8+ Qxe8 16. Nxd4 $19) 15. Qd2 (15. dxe5 $5 dxe5 16. Nd2 $17)
15... Nb6 $19 16. dxe5 (16. Qd3 Nc4 17. Bc1 exd4 18. Rxe8+ Qxe8 19. Nxd4 Qe5
$19) 16... dxe5 (16... Nc4 $142 17. Qd1 dxe5 $19) 17. Re4 $2 (17. Rad1 Nc4 18.
Qc1 Be7 19. Nxe5 Bf6 20. Nxc4 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Bxc3 $19) 17... Nc4 (17... Nxd5 {
seems even better} 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Rae1 Qxd2 20. Nxd2 Bxe4 21. Nxe4 $19) 18.
Qc1 $2 (18. Rxc4 bxc4 19. Re1 $19) 18... Bxd5 19. Nxd5 (19. Bb2 {doesn't
change the outcome of the game} Bxe4 20. Nxe4 Be7 $19) 19... Qxd5 20. Re2 (20.
Qe1 {there is nothing better in the position} Nxa3 21. Qe2 $19) 20... e4 21.
Ne1 (21. Qd1 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} Red8 22. Qxd5
Rxd5 23. Rxe4 Bxa1 $19) 21... Bxa1 22. Qxa1 Nxa3 23. Qc1 Nc4 24. c3 (24. Kg1 {
doesn't improve anything} a5 25. bxa5 Rxa5 $19) 24... Rad8 25. Kg1 Qd1 26. Qxd1
Rxd1 27. Kh2 (27. a3 {is no salvation} Nxa3 28. Kf1 Nc4 $19) 27... Rd2 28. Rxd2
Nxd2 29. Kg3 Nb1 30. Kf4 Nxc3 31. a3 Nd5+ 32. Kg3 f5 33. f4 g5 34. fxg5 hxg5
35. Kf2 f4 36. a4 Nxb4 37. axb5 (37. h4 {does not save the day} bxa4 38. Ke2
gxh4 39. Kd2 a3 40. Kc3 a2 41. Kb2 Rd8 42. g4 Rd2+ 43. Kc3 a1=Q+ 44. Kxd2 Qb2+
45. Kd1 e3 46. Nc2 Qxc2+ 47. Ke1 Qd2+ 48. Kf1 Qf2#) 37... axb5 (37... Nd3+ 38.
Kf1 Nxe1 39. Kxe1 axb5 40. Kf1 e3 41. Ke2 b4 42. h4 gxh4 43. g3 fxg3 44. Kd1
e2+ 45. Kc2 e1=Q 46. Kb3 Qc3+ 47. Ka4 Rb8 48. Ka5 Qa3#) 38. g3 Rd8 (38... Nd3+
39. Ke2 Nxe1 40. gxf4 gxf4 41. Kxe1 e3 42. Ke2 f3+ 43. Kxf3 e2 44. Kf4 e1=Q 45.
Kg4 Kg7 46. h4 Qe3 47. h5 Kh6 48. Kh4 Re4#) 39. gxf4 gxf4 (39... Nd3+ 40. Kg3
Nxe1 41. h4 e3 42. hxg5 Nc2 43. Kf3 Rd2 44. f5 e2 45. f6 e1=Q 46. f7+ Kxf7 47.
Kf4 Qf2+ 48. Ke5 Re2+ 49. Kd5 Nb4#) 40. h4 (40. Ng2 {cannot undo what has
already been done} Nd3+ 41. Kg1 Ra8 42. h4 Ra1+ 43. Kh2 Ra2 44. Kh3 e3 45. Ne1
Nxe1 46. Kg4 Nd3 47. Kf5 e2 48. Ke6 e1=Q+ 49. Kd7 Qe5 50. Kc8 Nc5 51. Kb8 c6+
52. Kc8 Ra8#) 40... Rd2+ 41. Kf1 (41. Kg1 {doesn't get the bull off the ice} f3
42. h5 f2+ 43. Kf1 Nd5 44. Nc2 Rxc2 45. Kg2 Ne3+ 46. Kg3 f1=Q 47. Kh4 Qf4+ 48.
Kh3 Rh2#) 41... Nd5 42. Ng2 (42. Kg1 {does not solve anything} f3 43. Nxf3 exf3
44. h5 Ne3 45. h6 Ng4 46. h7+ Kxh7 47. Kh1 Rd1#) 42... f3 43. Ne1 Ne3+ 44. Kg1
f2+ 45. Kh2 fxe1=Q+ 46. Kh3 Qh1+ 47. Kg3 Qh2# 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Numata, Takeshi"]
[Black "Kudo, Sotaro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "1656"]
[BlackElo "952"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "57"]

{A13: English Opening: 1...e6} 1. d4 Nc6 2. Nf3 e6 (2... Nf6 3. d5 Nb8 4. c4 e6
5. Nc3 Bc5 6. g3 c6 7. Bg2 cxd5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Nxd5
Nxd5 12. Qxd5 O-O 13. Rfd1 d6 14. Rd2 Re8 15. Bxe7 Rxe7 16. Qxd6 Rd7 17. Qf4 {
Solozhenkin,E (2545)-Okhotnik,V (2438) St Quentin 1999 1/2-1/2 (58)}) 3. c4 (3.
g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. c3 Be7 6. O-O d6 7. c4 e5 8. d5 Nb8 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. e4
Nf8 11. c5 Ng6 12. cxd6 cxd6 13. h3 O-O 14. Be3 Ne8 15. Qb3 b6 16. h4 h6 17.
Rac1 f5 {Kojima,S (2264)-Vamos,V (2232) Kecskemet 2012 1-0 (66)}) 3... Qf6 $146
(3... Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 (4... Qe7 5. g3 (5. e4 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 a5 7. Nc3 d6 8. e5
dxe5 9. dxe5 Qc5 10. O-O-O Nge7 11. Ne4 Qb4 12. Qc2 a4 13. a3 Qa5 14. c5 h6 15.
h4 Bd7 16. h5 O-O-O 17. Bc4 Kb8 18. Kb1 Bc8 19. Qc3 Bd7 {Peralta,F (2516)
-Barrionuevo,P (2223) Buenos Aires 2003 1/2-1/2 (55)}) 5... f5 6. Bg2 Nf6 7.
O-O Bxd2 8. Qxd2 Ne4 9. Qc2 b6 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. Qxc3 Bb7 12. d5 Nd8 13. Nd4 O-O
14. e4 c5 15. dxc6 Nxc6 16. exf5 Nxd4 17. Qxd4 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Rxf5 19. Rad1 {
Peralta,F (2408)-Dolezal,C (2378) Villa Ballester 2001 1/2-1/2 (40)}) 5. g3 Nf6
6. Bg2 d5 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 Ne4 9. a3 Bf6 10. e3 Ne7 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxc3 c6 {
1/2-1/2 (12) Sebenik,M (2190)-Soln,P (2410) Schwarzach 1999}) (3... Nf6 4. Nc3
$11) 4. Bg5 (4. e4 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 d6 $16) 4... Bb4+ 5. Nc3 Qf5 6. e3 e5 7. d5 {
White threatens to win material: d5xc6} Na5 (7... e4 8. Qc2 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 $11)
8. Bh4 $14 e4 $2 (8... Bxc3+ $142 {and Black has air to breath} 9. bxc3 b6 $14)
9. Nd4 $18 Qe5 10. Bg3 Qe7 (10... Qf6 11. Ndb5 Kf8 12. Qc2 $18) 11. Bxc7 (11.
Ndb5 {keeps an even firmer grip} d6 12. Qa4 c5 13. dxc6 Nxc6 $18) 11... Qc5 $2
(11... b6 12. Bf4 Nh6 13. Rc1 $18) 12. Bxa5 (12. Qg4 $142 {and White has
prevailed} Nxc4 13. Qxg7 Nxb2 14. Ndb5 Bxc3+ 15. Nxc3 Qxc7 16. Qxh8 $18) 12...
Bxa5 (12... Qxa5 13. Nde2 $16) 13. Nb3 (13. Qg4 Kf8 14. Qxe4 $18) 13... Qb4 $2
(13... Bxc3+ $142 $5 14. bxc3 Qe7 $16) 14. Nxa5 Qxa5 15. Qg4 Nf6 $4 {but even
a better move would not have saved the game} (15... Kf8 $18) 16. Qxg7 Rg8 17.
Qxf6 Qb4 (17... Qb6 {is one last hope} 18. d6 Qd8 $18) 18. d6 Kf8 19. Qh6+ Rg7
20. O-O-O Qa5 21. Rd5 Qb4 (21... Qd8 {doesn't improve anything} 22. Nxe4 b6 23.
Rg5 Qxg5 24. Nxg5 Kg8 25. Bd3 f5 26. g4 Bb7 27. gxf5 Be4 28. f6 Rxg5 29. Bxe4
Re8 30. Qxg5+ Kf7 31. Bd5+ Re6 32. Qg7+ Ke8 33. Qg8#) 22. Rg5 (22. Re5 b6 23.
Qf6 Qxc3+ 24. bxc3 Ba6 25. Qe7+ Kg8 26. Qe8+ Rxe8 27. Rxe8#) 22... Qxd6 23.
Qxd6+ Kg8 24. Rxg7+ Kxg7 25. Nxe4 b6 (25... Kg8 {doesn't get the cat off the
tree} 26. Nf6+ Kg7 27. Nh5+ Kg8 28. Qf6 Kf8 29. Qd8#) 26. h4 (26. Qf6+ Kg8 27.
Nd6 Ba6 28. Nf5 h5 29. Qg7#) 26... Ba6 (26... Bb7 {does not win a prize} 27.
Ng3 Kg8 28. Nf5 Be4 29. Qg3+ Kf8 30. Qg7+ Ke8 31. Qg8#) 27. Rh3 Rc8 (27... h6 {
cannot change what is in store for ?} 28. Rg3+ Kh7 29. Qe5 f6 30. Qe7+ Kh8 31.
Qg7#) 28. Rg3+ Kh8 29. Qf6# 1-0

[Event "Hoikkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "1.8"]
[White "Drakakis, Athanasios"]
[Black "Sato, Yasuji"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[BlackElo "1555"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "91"]

{D02: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3 g3 and 2...Nf6 3 Bf4} 1. d4
d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bf4 Nf6 4. Nbd2 (4. c3 g6 5. h3 Bf5 6. e3 a6 7. Nbd2 Bg7 8.
Be2 O-O 9. O-O Ne4 10. Nh4 Nxd2 11. Qxd2 Be4 12. Nf3 Qd7 13. Rac1 Rfe8 14. c4
dxc4 15. Bxc4 Bxf3 16. gxf3 e5 17. Bg3 exd4 18. Rfd1 Qxh3 {Berdichevski,I 
(2555)-Bareev,E (2701) Internet 2006 0-1 (35)}) 4... Nh5 $146 (4... e6 5. e3
Bd6 6. Ne5 Ne7 7. h3 Ng6 8. Bg3 Nd7 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Bxd6 cxd6 11. Bd3 Nf6 12.
c3 Bd7 13. Qb3 Bc6 14. O-O-O Qd7 15. Rde1 O-O 16. h4 Rfc8 17. e4 Ba4 18. Qa3 a5
19. Nb1 {Richardson,J (2305)-Ivell,N (2350) Southport 1983 0-1 (41)}) (4... Bg4
5. h3 Bh5 6. c3 e6 7. g3 Bd6 8. Bxd6 cxd6 9. Bg2 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 O-O 11. O-O b5
12. e3 Qb6 13. b3 Rfc8 14. a4 Na5 15. axb5 Rxc3 16. b4 Nc4 17. Nxc4 Rxc4 18.
Be2 Qxb5 19. Bxc4 {Fernandez Borrego,P (2378)-Gomez Dieguez,D (2152) Sanxenxo
2015 1-0 (49)}) 5. Bg3 Nxg3 6. hxg3 e6 7. e3 Bd6 8. c3 {Prevents intrusion on
b4} Ne7 9. Bd3 {White threatens to win material: Bd3xh7} g6 {Black has a
cramped position} (9... h6 10. e4 c6 11. g4 $11) 10. Qc2 (10. e4 c5 11. e5 Bb8
$16) 10... Bd7 11. O-O-O c5 12. Ng5 (12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Kb1 Nc6 $14) 12... h6 (
12... cxd4 13. exd4 Nc6 $11) 13. Ndf3 (13. dxc5 $142 $5 {might be a viable
alternative} Bxc5 14. Ndf3 $14) 13... c4 $15 {Black gains space} 14. Be2 Qa5 {
Black threatens to win material: Qa5xa2} 15. Qb1 (15. Kb1 $5 $15 {should be
considered}) 15... f6 $17 16. Nh3 b5 17. a3 (17. Nf4 Kf7 $17) 17... Rb8 (17...
Bxa3 18. Qa1 Qxc3+ 19. Kb1 Bxb2 20. Qxb2 Qxb2+ 21. Kxb2 $19) 18. Kd2 (18. Qc2
Kf7 $17) 18... g5 19. Nh2 h5 (19... Kf7 20. Bh5+ Kg7 21. Qc2 $17) 20. Ke1 (20.
Bxh5+ $142 $5 {must definitely be considered} Rxh5 21. Ng4 $15) 20... Qc7 $17
21. Nf1 h4 (21... Kf7 22. Qc1 $17) 22. Ng1 Kf7 (22... a5 23. Qc2 $17) 23. gxh4
Rh6 (23... a5 24. Qc2 $17) 24. h5 $11 {White has a new passed pawn: h5} Nf5 25.
Rd2 (25. g4 Ne7 $11) 25... a5 $15 26. g4 (26. Qc1 Ke7 $15) 26... Ne7 (26... b4
27. axb4 axb4 28. Qa1 $17) 27. Rh3 b4 {Black threatens to win material: b4xa3}
28. Qc1 (28. axb4 axb4 29. Qc1 Rb7 $15) 28... bxc3 29. bxc3 Rb3 30. Ra2 Qb6 (
30... e5 $5 $17) 31. Nd2 $11 a4 32. Bd1 {White threatens to win material:
Bd1xb3} (32. Ngf3 Kg7 $11) 32... Rh8 (32... e5 33. f3 $15) 33. h6 {Pushes the
passed pawn} (33. Ne2 f5 $11) 33... Rb8 (33... e5 34. dxe5 Bxe5 35. Rc2 $17)
34. h7 (34. Ne2 Qa5 $11) 34... Rh8 $15 35. Ne2 Kg7 36. Bc2 (36. Ng3 Ng6 $11)
36... Ng6 (36... e5 37. f3 $15) 37. Bb1 (37. Bxg6 $142 {is a viable option}
Kxg6 38. f4 $11) 37... Rxh7 38. Rxh7+ $4 {a blunder in a bad position} (38. Ng1
$142 Rxh3 $1 {Boing!} 39. Nxh3 $19) 38... Kxh7 $15 39. Qc2 (39. f4 $5 $15 {
deserves consideration}) 39... Be8 $17 40. f4 (40. Qc1 $17) 40... Rxa3 (40...
Bxa3 $142 $5 41. Qd1 Bd6 42. Nxb3 cxb3 $19) 41. Rxa3 $15 Bxa3 {Black has a new
passed pawn: a4} 42. f5 {White threatens to win material: f5xg6} Nf8 (42...
exf5 $142 43. Qxf5 Bf7 $15) 43. Nf3 $2 (43. fxe6+ $142 {and White is still in
the game} Kg7 44. Qa2 $15) 43... Kg7 $19 44. Ng3 (44. e4 exf5 45. gxf5 $19)
44... Bb2 $4 {forfeits the advantage} (44... Bd6 $142 {nails it down} 45. Nh5+
Bxh5 46. gxh5 e5 $19) 45. fxe6 $17 a3 {Is this a dangerous pawn?} (45... Bxc3+
$5 46. Kd1 a3 $17) 46. Nf5+ $11 (46. Nf5+ Kg8 47. Ne7+ Kg7 48. Nf5+ Kg8 49.
Ne7+ Kg7 50. Nf5+ $11) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Watanabe, Katsumi"]
[Black "Yamada, Akihiro"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "1732"]
[BlackElo "1970"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "72"]

{D94: Gr・feld: 4 Nf3 Bg7 5 e3} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. e3 g6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Nc3
Bg7 6. Be2 cxd4 7. exd4 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. a3 {White has a very active position}
a5 $146 {White has an active position} (9... dxc4 10. Bxc4 e6 (10... Bg4 11. d5
Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Ne5 13. Qe2 Nxc4 14. Qxc4 Nd7 15. Rd1 Nb6 16. Qb3 Qc7 17. Bg5 h6
18. Bh4 g5 19. Bg3 Qc4 20. Qb4 Qxb4 21. axb4 Nc4 22. d6 exd6 23. Nb5 Nxb2 24.
Rd5 Nc4 25. Rad1 {De Lange,D (2210)-Bletz,H (2200) Gausdal 1982 0-1 (41)}) 11.
Bf4 a6 12. Qd2 Ne7 13. Rad1 b5 14. Bb3 Bb7 15. Ne5 Rc8 16. Bg5 Qd6 17. Rfe1
Ned5 18. Bxd5 Bxd5 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Qf4 Qd8 21. Nxd5 {1/2-1/2 (21)
Schlesinger,O (2221)-Sunder,T (2222) Germany 2008}) (9... Bg4 10. cxd5 (10. Be3
Rc8 11. c5 Ne4 12. h3 Be6 13. Qa4 h6 14. Rfd1 f5 15. Bf4 g5 16. Be5 g4 17. hxg4
fxg4 18. Nh4 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Nxe5 21. c4 Qc7 22. Qxa7 Nxc4 23. Rab1
Qf4 24. c6 b6 {Vorovic,A (2196)-Fiacan,R (2194) Slovakia 2006 0-1 (34)}) 10...
Nxd5 11. h3 Be6 12. Bg5 Nb6 13. Qc1 Rc8 14. Rd1 Bb3 15. Re1 Bxd4 16. Nxd4 Nxd4
17. Bg4 Rc7 18. Qf4 f6 19. Bh6 e5 20. Qg3 Rff7 21. Nb5 Nxb5 22. Qxb3 Nd4 23.
Rad1 Kh8 24. Qg3 {Bregadze,L (2435)-Zherebukh,Y (2625) Rockville 2014 1/2-1/2 
(60)}) (9... dxc4 10. Bxc4 Bg4 11. Be3 $11) 10. Be3 {White has a very active
position} Bg4 {White has an active position} 11. Ne5 {White threatens to win
material: Ne5xg4} Be6 12. cxd5 {White forks: c6+e6} (12. c5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Ne4
$14) 12... Nxd5 {The knight feels good on d5.} 13. Nxc6 (13. Nf3 Qb6 $11) 13...
bxc6 $15 14. Qc1 {White has an active position} Rb8 15. Na4 (15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16.
Rd1 Qd7 $15) 15... Bf5 16. Bh6 Nb6 (16... Bxh6 17. Qxh6 Qd6 18. Qd2 $17) 17.
Bxg7 $15 Kxg7 {Black king safety dropped} 18. Qd1 (18. Nxb6 Qxb6 19. Qe3 Qxb2
$17) 18... Nxa4 $17 19. Qxa4 Be4 (19... Rxb2 20. Bf3 $17) 20. b3 $15 Qd5 {
Black threatens to win material: Qd5xb3} 21. Bc4 {White threatens to win
material: Bc4xd5} Qg5 22. f3 Bd5 23. Rae1 e6 {Covers d5} (23... Bxc4 $142 24.
Qxc4 Rfd8 $15) 24. Re5 (24. Qxa5 $142 {and White hangs on} Qe7 25. a4 $11)
24... Qd2 $17 25. Bxd5 (25. Rfe1 $5 $17) 25... cxd5 $19 26. Rfe1 Rfc8 27. R5e2
Qc3 28. Re3 Qd2 {White king safety dropped} (28... Qb2 $5 29. R1e2 Rc1+ 30. Kf2
$19) 29. R3e2 $17 Qd3 30. Re3 Qc2 31. Qxa5 Rxb3 (31... Qb2 32. Qa7 Ra8 33. Qe7
$19) 32. Rxb3 Qxb3 33. Qb4 Qd3 (33... Qa2 $142 34. Qd6 Rc2 35. Qe5+ f6 $17) 34.
Rb1 $4 (34. Rxe6 $142 $1 {would keep White alive} Rc4 35. Qe7 Qxd4+ 36. Re3 $15
) 34... Rc4 (34... Qe3+ $142 {makes it even easier for Black} 35. Kf1 Rc2 $19)
35. Qb2 $4 {White falls apart} (35. Qe1 $142 Qxd4+ 36. Kh1 $19) 35... Rc2 36.
Qb3 Qd2 (36... Qd2 37. Qxc2 Qxc2 $19) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Sato, Tsubasa"]
[Black "Aoki, Yasuhiro"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "1677"]
[BlackElo "1778"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "128"]

{B07: Pirc Defence: Miscellaneous Systems} 1. e4 d6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d3 g6 4. h3
$146 {Controls g4} (4. Be2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 Nc6 (6... e5 7. Bf1 Nc6 8. c3
Ne8 9. b4 Kh8 10. b5 Ne7 11. d4 Bg4 12. dxe5 Bxe5 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Qc8 15.
Nd2 c6 16. Nc4 Bg7 17. a4 f5 18. e5 d5 19. Nd6 Nxd6 20. exd6 Ng8 21. Ba3 {
Meissner,H (2255)-Pape,J (2325) Germany 1996 1-0 (60)}) 7. h3 e5 8. Bf1 h6 9.
Nbd2 Be6 10. c3 Ne7 11. d4 Nh7 12. Qc2 c6 13. b3 Qc7 14. Ba3 Rfe8 15. Rad1 Rad8
16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Bc4 Nc8 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 {Stocko,J (2341)-Mrkonjic,N (2373)
Osijek 2015 1/2-1/2 (31)}) (4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 c5 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. c3 Bd7 8. O-O
Qc8 9. Re1 Bh3 10. Bh1 O-O 11. a4 h6 12. Nc4 Ng4 13. Ne3 e5 14. Nh4 Nxe3 15.
Bxe3 g5 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. exf5 Qxf5 18. h4 g4 {Todorcevic,M (2450)-Velimirovic,
D (2438) Belgrade 2009 1-0 (32)}) 4... Bg7 5. Be3 O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8.
d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 {Black has a cramped position.} Qa5 10. Qb3 $4 {gives the
opponent counterplay} (10. Bd3 $142 $11 {and White could well hope to play on})
10... Nxe4 $17 11. Bd3 (11. Qd1 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Qf5 $17) 11... Nxd2 (11... Be6 $5
12. Qd1 Nxd2 13. Bxd2 $19) 12. Bxd2 $17 Qd8 (12... Qb6 13. Qxb6 axb6 14. Bc3
$17) 13. Bc3 (13. d5 Ne5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. O-O $15) 13... Na5 {Black threatens
to win material: Na5xb3} (13... Be6 $5 14. Qd1 Qb6 $17) 14. Qb5 (14. Qd5 Nc6
15. Qb3 Be6 $17) 14... Nc6 15. Be4 {White threatens to win material: Be4xc6} (
15. Qb3 $5 $11 {must be considered}) 15... a6 $17 {Black threatens to win
material: a6xb5} 16. Qb3 Qd7 (16... e6 17. Qd1 $17) 17. O-O $15 Rb8 (17... b5
18. Rfe1 $15) 18. a4 (18. d5 Ne5 $11) 18... b6 {Secures a5} (18... b5 19. axb5
Rxb5 20. Qa4 $15) 19. Rfc1 (19. d5 Ne5 $11) 19... Nd8 {Black has a cramped
position} (19... Bb7 20. d5 Ne5 21. Nd4 $11) 20. Nd2 (20. d5 $142 $5 {is
worthy of consideration} e5 21. dxe6 Nxe6 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Bc6 $11) 20... Ne6
$17 21. Nf3 Nf4 22. Re1 $2 (22. Qd1 Nxg2 $1 {Black moves ahead of the opponent}
23. Bd2 d5 $17) 22... Bb7 $4 {Black has let it slip away} (22... d5 $142 {
and Black can already relax} 23. Bd2 Nxh3+ 24. gxh3 dxe4 25. Rxe4 Qxh3 $19) 23.
Nd2 Bxe4 24. Rxe4 Ne6 25. Rae1 d5 26. R4e2 Nxd4 (26... Rfc8 27. Nf3 $17) 27.
Bxd4 Bxd4 28. Rxe7 Qf5 {Black threatens to win material: Qf5xf2} 29. Nf3 {
White threatens to win material: Nf3xd4} Bf6 {Black threatens to win material:
Bf6xe7} 30. Ra7 Rfe8 (30... b5 $5 $17) 31. Rd1 {[%cal Rb3d5,Rd1d5,Gf5d5] The
isolani on d5 becomes a target. White threatens to win material: Rd1xd5} Re2
32. Qxd5 Qxd5 33. Rxd5 Rxb2 34. Rxa6 (34. Rdd7 b5 35. Rxf7 Bc3 36. Rxh7 bxa4
$16) 34... Rb1+ 35. Kh2 Rb2 36. Rd2 Rxd2 37. Nxd2 Bd4 38. f3 (38. Kg1 Re8 39.
Kf1 Bc3 $11) 38... Rc8 $15 39. Ne4 Be5+ 40. Kg1 (40. g3 Rc2+ 41. Kh1 $17) 40...
Rc1+ (40... f5 $142 41. Nd2 Rc2 42. Ra8+ Kf7 $17) 41. Kf2 $11 Rc2+ 42. Kf1 Rc1+
43. Kf2 Rc2+ {Twofold repetition} 44. Kf1 f5 45. Ra8+ (45. Ng5 Rc1+ 46. Kf2 h6
47. Ra8+ Kg7 48. Ra7+ Kf6 49. Nh7+ Ke6 50. Nf8+ Kf6 $11) 45... Kg7 $15 46. Ng5
Bg3 47. Ra7+ (47. f4 h5 $15) 47... Kf6 {Black threatens to win material: Kf6xg5
} (47... Kh6 $142 $5 48. Nxh7 Rf2+ 49. Ke1 Rxg2+ 50. Kd1 Rf2 $17) 48. Nxh7+ $11
Ke5 49. Ra6 $4 (49. Nf8 $142 $11 {would keep White in the game}) 49... Rf2+ $19
50. Kg1 $4 {shortens the misery for White} (50. Ke1 Rxg2+ 51. Kf1 Rf2+ 52. Kg1
Rb2 $19) 50... Rb2 (50... Re2 51. Ra5+ bxa5 52. f4+ Kxf4 53. Kf1 Re1#) 51. Kf1
$19 Kf4 52. Ra8 Bf2 $4 {Black is ruining his position} (52... Rf2+ $142 {
would have given Black a clear advantage} 53. Ke1 Rxg2+ 54. Kd1 Kxf3 55. Ng5+
Kf2 $19) 53. Re8 (53. Rg8 Ke3 54. Re8+ Kd3 $11) 53... Kg3 (53... Bh4 $142 54.
Rg8 Rf2+ 55. Kg1 Re2 56. g3+ Bxg3 57. Rxg6 Rb2 $17) 54. Nf6 $2 (54. Rg8 $142
$11 {is the best option White has}) 54... Rb1+ $19 55. Ke2 Re1+ (55... Kxg2
$142 $5 56. Rg8 Re1+ 57. Kd3 Kxf3 58. Rxg6 Rd1+ 59. Kc2 Rd4 $19) 56. Kd3 $17
Rxe8 57. Nxe8 Kxg2 58. Ke2 Bg3 (58... Bd4 $5 59. Nc7 Kxh3 $17) 59. Nf6 $11 Bc7
(59... Kxh3 $5 60. Nd5 g5 61. Nxb6 g4 62. fxg4 fxg4 $11) 60. Nd5 $14 {White
threatens to win material: Nd5xc7} Bd8 61. Nf4+ {White forks: g6} Kg3 {Black
threatens to win material: Kg3xf4} 62. Nxg6 Kxh3 (62... Bf6 63. Ke3 Bg5+ 64. f4
$14) 63. Ne5 (63. Nf4+ $142 Kg3 64. Nh5+ Kg2 65. Ng7 $16) 63... Kg3 $11 64. Nc4
Kf4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Manabe, Hiroaki"]
[Black "Numata, Takeshi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C06"]
[WhiteElo "1755"]
[BlackElo "1656"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "60"]

{C06: French Tarrasch: 3...Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Bd3 main lines} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3.
Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 Qb6 8. O-O cxd4 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10.
Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Nf3 Qb6 12. Qa4 Bc5 (12... Be7 13. Qg4 g6 14. a3 Qb3 15. Be2 h5
16. Qf4 Nc5 17. Nd4 Qb6 18. Nb5 Ne4 19. Be3 Qd8 20. h4 a6 21. f3 Ng3 22. Qxg3
axb5 23. Bxb5+ Bd7 24. Bxd7+ Qxd7 25. Qf2 O-O 26. Rac1 Rfc8 27. g3 {Belotti,B 
(2405)-Huebner,R (2612) Switzerland 2002 0-1 (45)}) 13. Qg4 (13. a3 Be7 14. Bd2
O-O 15. Ba5 Qxb2 16. Rfb1 Nc5 17. Qd1 Qxa1 18. Rxa1 Bd7 19. Bb4 b6 20. a4 Rfc8
21. Bb5 Be8 22. Nd4 Rc7 23. a5 Rac8 24. Bxe8 Rxe8 25. Nb5 Rb7 26. Rc1 Rd8 27.
Nxa7 Rxa7 {Lagerman,R (2348)-Andersson,C (2194) Reykjavik 2008 1-0 (51)}) 13...
Kf8 {Black loses the right to castle} 14. h4 $146 {Black has a cramped
position. Black's piece can't move: c8} (14. Bd2 Qxb2 15. Qf4 Qb6 16. Ng5 Nxe5
17. Qxe5 f6 18. Qf4 e5 19. Qf3 e4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Bd7 22. Rab1 Qe6 23.
Rxb7 Rd8 24. Bd5 Qf5 25. Qxf5 Bxf5 26. Rf7+ Kg8 27. Rd7+ Kf8 28. Rxd8+ Ke7 {
Mencinger,V (2390)-Perhinig,R (2185) Austria 1996 1-0}) 14... f6 {Black
threatens to win material: f6xe5} (14... Be7 15. h5 $11) 15. Qf4 (15. exf6 Nxf6
16. Qg3 Bd7 $14) 15... Qb4 (15... Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Bd6 17. Nc4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 $15)
16. Qg3 (16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Qg3 Kg8 $14) 16... fxe5 (16... f5 17. Bd2 Qg4 18.
Qh2 $11) 17. Nxe5 (17. Bd2 $5 {is worth looking at} Qb6 18. Bc3 $14) 17... Nxe5
$11 18. Qxe5 Bd6 19. Qh5 Bd7 20. Bxh7 $2 (20. Rd1 $142 $5 $11 {and White can
hope to live}) 20... Qe4 $1 $17 {Deflection: h7} 21. Bxe4 Rxh5 22. Bd3 Rxh4 23.
Be3 $2 (23. g3 Rh8 $17) 23... Kf7 (23... Bh2+ $142 $5 24. Kh1 Kf7 $19) 24. g3
Rh3 25. Rfc1 (25. Be2 e5 26. Bf3 d4 $17) 25... Bc6 (25... Rah8 26. Bf1 Rh1+ 27.
Kg2 $19) 26. Kf1 $2 (26. Bf1 Rh5 $17) 26... g6 (26... e5 $5 27. Ke2 Ke6 28. Rg1
$19) 27. Ke2 e5 28. Bg5 $2 (28. Rh1 $142 Rxh1 29. Rxh1 $19) 28... e4 29. Bc2 (
29. Ba6 {desperation} Rh2 30. a4 Bxg3 31. Be3 $19) 29... Rh5 30. Be3 (30. Bf4 {
a last effort to resist the inevitable} Bb5+ 31. Kd2 Bb4+ 32. Ke3 Bc5+ 33. Kd2
$19) 30... Bb5+ (30... Bb5+ 31. Bd3 Bxd3+ 32. Kd2 Bb4+ 33. Rc3 Bxc3+ 34. bxc3
Rh2 $19) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Yoshii, Yukihiko"]
[Black "Drakakis, Athanasios"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "1828"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "56"]

{D53: Queen's Gambit Declined: 4 Bg5 Be7: Early deviations} 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 e6
3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nf3 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 c6 8. Bd3 Nd7 9. c5 $146 {
White wins space} (9. O-O dxc4 (9... O-O 10. Qe2 Re8 (10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5
12. Rad1 exd4 13. exd4 Nb6 14. Bb3 Re8 15. Ne5 Be6 16. Bxe6 Rxe6 17. f4 Nd5 18.
Qh5 Re7 19. Qf3 Qa5 20. Ng4 Rae8 21. Rd3 Qb6 22. Qf2 Qa6 23. Rh3 Qb6 24. Rd1
Bxd4 25. Qxd4 {Piesina,G (2358)-Butnorius,A (2392) Vilnius 2006 0-1}) 11. Rfd1
a6 12. Rac1 b6 13. Bb1 Bb7 14. Qd3 g6 15. e4 Bg7 16. cxd5 exd5 17. a3 dxe4 18.
Nxe4 Nf6 19. Nc3 Nd5 20. Ba2 Rc8 21. h3 Qd6 22. Nxd5 cxd5 23. Qd2 Kh7 24. Bb3 {
Pantev,V (2325)-Zlatilov,I (2355) Varna 1995 0-1 (66)}) 10. Bxc4 O-O 11. Qd2 (
11. Ne4 e5 12. Bb3 exd4 13. exd4 Nb6 14. Ne5 Bf5 15. Qf3 Bxe4 16. Qxe4 Qe7 17.
Rfe1 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Rad8 19. Re2 Nd5 20. Rae1 Nc7 21. Bc2 f5 22. Qc4+ Kh8 23. e6
Rf6 24. Re5 Rd5 25. Bb3 Rd8 {Jovanic,O (2520)-Burmakin,V (2574) Nova Gorica
2014 1-0 (51)}) 11... e5 12. h3 {1/2-1/2 (12) Zaja,I (2457)-Rukavina,J (2414)
Sibenik 2008}) (9. O-O O-O $11) 9... Qa5 (9... e5 10. Be2 $15) 10. a3 e5 11. b4
Qc7 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 {The knight is not easily driven from d4} Nxd3+ 14.
Qxd3 O-O 15. O-O a6 {Controls b5} 16. Rad1 Bg4 17. f3 Bh5 18. e4 {White
threatens to win material: e4xd5} Bg6 19. Rfe1 (19. Qd2 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Be5 $15)
19... Rae8 (19... Rad8 20. Qe3 Rfe8 21. Nb3 $17) 20. Nf5 (20. Qf1 Be5 21. h3
dxe4 22. Nxe4 a5 $15) 20... Bxf5 (20... Qe5 21. Ne2 dxe4 22. fxe4 Qxe4 23. Qxe4
Rxe4 24. Nd6 $17) 21. exf5 Re5 22. Rxe5 Qxe5 23. Ne2 (23. Na4 $5 $17) 23... Re8
$19 24. Ng3 Bg5 25. Nf1 (25. Kf1 $142 $5 $17) 25... Qb2 $19 26. Nd2 $2 (26. Rb1
Qa2 27. Qb3 $19) 26... Re3 27. Qb1 (27. Qf1 {hardly improves anything} Rxa3 28.
f4 Qd4+ 29. Qf2 Qxf4 30. Qxf4 Bxf4 $19) 27... Qd4 28. Nf1 (28. Kh1 {otherwise
it's curtains at once} Rd3 29. Qa1 Qxa1 30. Rxa1 Rxd2 31. Rb1 $19) 28... Rd3+ (
28... Rd3+ 29. Kh1 Rxd1 30. g3 Rxb1 31. Kg2 Qd3 32. Nd2 Qxd2+ 33. Kh3 Rh1 34.
Kg4 Qxh2 35. a4 Qh3#) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Sato, Yasuji"]
[Black "Hakamada, Eiji"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "1555"]
[BlackElo "1432"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "142"]

{C02: French: Advance Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3
Qb6 6. Bd3 Bd7 7. Nbd2 $146 (7. O-O f6 (7... a5 8. Nbd2 cxd4 9. Nb3 Nge7 10.
cxd4 Ng6 11. a4 Nb4 12. h4 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 h6 14. h5 Ne7 15. Nc5 Nc6 16. Be3 Bxc5
17. dxc5 Qb4 18. Bd4 O-O 19. Ra3 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Rfc8 21. Rc3 Qxb2 22. Qd3 {
Pirrot,D (2422)-Al Modiahki,M (2550) Bad Wiessee 2006 0-1 (39)}) (7... Nge7 8.
Na3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Nb4 10. Be2 Rc8 11. Bd2 Nf5 12. Bxb4 Bxb4 13. Nc2 Be7 14. b3
O-O 15. Bd3 Bb5 16. Qe2 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Rc7 18. Ne3 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Rfc8 20. Rac1
Ba3 21. Rxc7 Qxc7 22. Qd3 {Dimitrov,P (2329)-Danov,L (2226) Plovdiv 2014 0-1 
(55)}) (7... Rc8 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. b4 Bf8 (9... Be7 10. a3 Nh6 11. Be3 Qc7 12.
Bd4 Nxd4 13. cxd4 O-O 14. Nbd2 Qb6 15. Nb3 Ba4 16. Qb1 Bxb3 17. Qxb3 Rc7 18.
Rac1 Rfc8 19. Qb1 g6 20. Rxc7 Qxc7 21. Nd2 a5 22. bxa5 Bxa3 23. Qb5 Nf5 24.
Bxf5 {Pacorro,F (2200)-Rivas Pastor,M (2520) Ceuta 1992 1/2-1/2 (36)}) 10. a4
Qc7 11. Qe2 g6 12. Na3 Qb8 13. Re1 Be7 14. Bg5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxg5 16. Nxd7 Kxd7
17. c4 d4 18. Qe4 Ke7 19. Rad1 Rd8 20. Nc2 Nf6 21. Qf3 Rd7 22. c5 {Szuk,B 
(2310)-Ezsol,M (2325) Gyor 1992 0-1 (48)}) 8. Re1 c4 9. Bc2 O-O-O 10. b3 cxb3
11. axb3 fxe5 12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. Rxe5 Bd6 14. Rg5 g6 15. c4 Bb8 16. cxd5 exd5
17. Rxd5 Nf6 18. Rc5+ Bc6 19. Bg5 Qxc5 20. dxc5 Rxd1+ 21. Bxd1 Re8 {Klauner,T 
(2200)-Baptista,P (2200) Graz 1978 1-0 (41)}) (7. dxc5 $5 Bxc5 8. O-O $11) 7...
cxd4 $15 8. cxd4 Nh6 (8... Nb4 9. Bb1 $15) 9. O-O Nf5 {[%cal Rb6d4,Rc6d4,Rf5d4,
Gf3d4] Will d4 fall?} 10. Bxf5 exf5 {Black has the pair of bishops} 11. Nb3 Bb4
12. a3 Be7 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15. Nc5 Bb5 {Black threatens to win
material: Bb5xf1} 16. Re1 O-O 17. e6 f6 {Covers e5+g5} 18. a4 Bc6 19. b3 Qb4
20. Qd3 (20. Nd3 Qd6 $14) 20... b6 $11 21. Na6 Qd6 22. Nh4 {White threatens to
win material: Nh4xf5} Bb7 23. Rac1 Bxa6 24. Qxa6 Qb4 {Black threatens to win
material: Qb4xb3. Black forks: b3+d4} 25. Qd3 Rac8 (25... f4 26. g3 $14) 26.
Kf1 (26. Nxf5 $142 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 Nxf5 28. Qxf5 $16) 26... g5 $4 (26... Rxc1
$142 {was much better} 27. Rxc1 Qd6 28. Nxf5 Qxe6 29. Nxe7+ Qxe7 $11) 27. Nxf5
$18 Rxc1 (27... Rfe8 28. Nxe7+ Qxe7 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Qg6+ Qg7 31. Qf5 $18) 28.
Nxe7+ (28. Rxc1 $142 {might be the shorter path} Nxf5 29. Qxf5 Qe7 30. Qxd5 Re8
$18) 28... Qxe7 29. Qg6+ (29. Rxc1 $5 {makes it even easier for White} f5 30.
Re1 g4 $18) 29... Qg7 30. Qxg7+ Kxg7 31. Rxc1 Re8 32. Rc6 (32. Rc7+ Kg6 33.
Rxa7 Rxe6 $18) 32... Kg6 33. g4 h5 34. h3 (34. gxh5+ Kxh5 35. Rc7 Kg4 36. Rxa7
Rxe6 $18) 34... hxg4 $16 35. hxg4 f5 36. e7+ Kf7 37. Rd6 {White threatens to
win material: Rd6xd5} (37. gxf5 $5 Rxe7 38. Kg2 $16) 37... Rxe7 38. Rxd5 fxg4
39. Rxg5 Re4 40. d5 (40. a5 $5 $16) 40... Kf6 41. Rh5 Kg6 (41... Rb4 $5 $11 {
is an interesting alternative}) 42. Rh8 $16 Rd4 (42... Kf5 $16) 43. Rg8+ (43.
Ra8 Kf6 44. Rxa7 Rb4 $16) 43... Kf7 (43... Kf5 44. Ra8 a5 45. Rb8 $11) 44. Rg5
(44. Rb8 $5 $16) 44... Kf6 $11 45. Rh5 Kg6 (45... Rd3 46. Rh7 $11) 46. Re5 (46.
Rh4 Kg5 47. Rh7 a5 $14) 46... Kf7 (46... Kf6 47. Re6+ Kf5 48. Re7 $11) 47. Kg2
Rd3 (47... Kf6 48. Re6+ Kf5 49. Re7 $14) 48. Rf5+ (48. Re3 $5 Rxd5 49. Re4 $14)
48... Ke7 $11 49. Re5+ Kd6 {[%cal Rd3d5,Rd6d5,Ge5d5] Attacks the isolani on d5.
Black threatens to win material: Kd6xe5} 50. Re8 (50. Re6+ Kxd5 51. Re7 Rxb3
52. Rxa7 $11) 50... Kc5 (50... Rxb3 51. Re4 $15) 51. Re5 (51. d6 $142 $14 {
and White has air to breath}) 51... Rxb3 $17 52. Re3 $4 {solves nothing} (52.
d6+ $142 Kxd6 53. Re4 $15) 52... Rb4 (52... Rxe3 53. fxe3 Kxd5 54. Kf1 a6 55.
Kg2 Ke4 56. Kg3 b5 57. a5 Kxe3 58. Kxg4 b4 59. Kf5 b3 60. Ke6 Ke4 61. Kf6 b2
62. Ke6 b1=Q 63. Kf6 Qa1+ 64. Ke7 Ke5 65. Kf7 Qg1 66. Ke7 Qg7+ 67. Ke8 Kd6 68.
Kd8 Qh8#) 53. Ra3 (53. a5 bxa5 54. Rd3 Kd6 $19) 53... a5 54. Rd3 Kd6 55. Kg3 $4
{terrible, but the game is lost in any case} (55. Ra3 $19) 55... Rxa4 56. Rb3 (
56. f4 {doesn't do any good} gxf3 57. Rxf3 b5 $19) 56... Rb4 57. Rd3 (57. Ra3 {
what else?} a4 58. Ra1 $19) 57... a4 58. Kh4 (58. Kg2 {doesn't change the
outcome of the game} Rb3 59. Rd4 a3 $19) 58... b5 (58... g3+ $142 {and Black
has triumphed} 59. Kh3 gxf2 60. Kg2 $19) 59. Kg5 (59. Ra3 g3+ $1 {Double
attack: a3/g3} 60. Kh3 gxf2 61. Kg2 $19) 59... Rb3 60. Rd2 b4 61. Kxg4 a3 62.
f4 Rb2 63. Rd1 b3 64. Ra1 a2 65. f5 (65. Re1 {doesn't change anything anymore}
Rb1 66. Re6+ Kc5 67. Rc6+ Kxd5 68. Rc8 a1=Q 69. Kf5 Qa5 70. Re8 Re1 71. Rg8 b2
72. Rg5 Re5+ 73. Kg4 Rxg5+ 74. Kxg5 b1=Q 75. Kg4 Qd2 76. Kg3 Qg1+ 77. Kh3 Qdh2#
) 65... Kxd5 (65... Rb1 66. Kf3 Rxa1 67. Ke2 Rg1 68. Ke3 a1=Q 69. Kd3 Kc5 70.
Ke4 Qe1+ 71. Kf3 Rg3+ 72. Kf4 Qe3#) 66. Rd1+ Ke5 67. Re1+ Kf6 68. Re6+ Kf7 69.
Ra6 Rg2+ 70. Kf3 (70. Kh5 {cannot change what is in store for ?} b2 71. Ra7+
Kf6 72. Ra6+ Kxf5 73. Ra5+ Ke6 74. Ra6+ Kd5 75. Ra5+ Kc4 76. Rxa2 b1=Q 77. Rxg2
Qh1+ 78. Kg5 Qxg2+ 79. Kf5 Kd5 80. Kf4 Qf2+ 81. Kg5 Ke6 82. Kg4 Kf6 83. Kh3 Qg1
84. Kh4 Qg2 85. Kh5 Qh3#) 70... Rg1 71. Kf2 (71. Ra7+ {doesn't get the bull
off the ice} Kf6 72. Ra6+ Kxf5 73. Ra5+ Kf6 74. Ra6+ Ke5 75. Ra5+ Kd4 76. Ra8
a1=Q 77. Rd8+ Ke5 78. Re8+ Kd6 79. Rd8+ Ke7 80. Rb8 Qd1+ 81. Ke3 Re1+ 82. Kf4
Qd4+ 83. Kg3 Re3+ 84. Kf2 Qd2+ 85. Kg1 Re1#) 71... a1=Q (71... a1=Q 72. Rxa1
Rxa1 73. Kf3 b2 74. Ke4 b1=Q+ 75. Kd4 Qb4+ 76. Kd3 Ra3+ 77. Kc2 Qc3+ 78. Kd1
Qb2 79. Ke1 Ra1#) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.6"]
[White "Shibuya, Kaisei"]
[Black "Sato, Takeru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "1529"]
[BlackElo "1230"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "79"]

{B07: Pirc Defence: Miscellaneous Systems} 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bc4
Bg7 5. O-O (5. h3 c5 6. e5 dxe5 7. Nxe5 O-O 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Nf3 Nb6 10. Be2 Nbd5
11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. d4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Qb6 14. c3 Rd8 15. Qb3 Bxd4 16. cxd4 Qxb3
17. axb3 Be6 18. Bc4 Nb4 19. Be3 Nc6 {Alburt,L (2530)-Seirawan,Y (2585) USA
1989 1/2-1/2 (52)}) 5... O-O (5... Nc6 6. h3 e5 7. d4 exd4 8. Nxd4 O-O 9. Nxc6
bxc6 10. Bb3 Nd7 11. Be3 Ba6 12. Re1 Nb6 13. Bd4 Qg5 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qd4+ f6
16. Re3 Rae8 17. Rae1 Re7 18. Rg3 Qa5 19. Qd1 Rfe8 20. Rge3 {Boehm,M (2298)
-Koch,W (2310) Germany 2011 1-0 (37)}) 6. d3 Bg4 7. h3 $146 (7. Bb3 Nc6 8. h3
Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nd4 10. Qe3 Nd7 11. Ne2 Nxb3 12. axb3 a6 13. Ra2 c6 14. Bd2 d5 15.
Ba5 Qc8 16. Bc3 e5 17. Bb4 Re8 18. Raa1 Qc7 19. Qf3 Nf6 20. Ng3 Rac8 21. Rfd1
Qd7 {Issing,P (2273)-Hummel,D (2259) Germany 2008 1-0 (72)}) 7... Bxf3 8. Qxf3
c6 {Consolidates b5} (8... Nc6 9. Bg5 $11) 9. Re1 b5 (9... Nfd7 10. Bb3 $11)
10. Bb3 (10. Bxb5 d5 11. e5 Nfd7 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Qxd5 Nb6 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 $11)
10... a5 $11 11. a3 a4 {This push gains space} 12. Ba2 Qc7 13. Bf4 e5 14. Bh2
Nbd7 15. Ne2 c5 16. c3 c4 {Black gets more space} 17. Rad1 Qc6 18. Nc1 cxd3 (
18... Qc7 19. Bb1 $14) 19. Nxd3 $14 Nc5 {Black threatens to win material:
Nc5xe4} 20. Nb4 Qc7 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 Rae8 23. Rc1 Nb3 (23... Bh6 24. Rb1
$14) 24. Bxb3 $16 axb3 25. Qd1 {White threatens to win material: Qd1xb3} (25.
Rcd1 Re6 $16) 25... Bh6 (25... Qc4 $142 $14) 26. Qxb3 $4 {with this move White
loses his initiative} (26. Rb1 $142 $16) 26... Bxc1 $17 27. Rxc1 Qc4 28. Qd1 (
28. Qc2 $5 $17) 28... Qxe4 29. Qxd6 Rd8 {Black threatens to win material:
Rd8xd6} (29... Qe2 $142 $19 {and Black is on the road to success}) 30. Qxe5 $11
{White forks: b5+e4.} Qc2 {Black has a mate threat} (30... Qc6 31. Bf4 Rfe8 32.
Qg5 $15) 31. Bf4 Qf5 32. Qxf5 gxf5 33. Re1 (33. g3 $5 $14) 33... Rfe8 $11 {
Black threatens to win material: Re8xe1} 34. Kf1 Re4 35. g3 Rde8 (35... Rxe1+
36. Kxe1 Kg7 37. Be3 $11) 36. Be3 (36. Rd1 Re2 37. b4 Rc2 $16) 36... h5 37. h4
Kg7 (37... Rd8 $5 $11) 38. Rd1 $16 Kf6 39. Rd5 R4e5 $4 {the position is going
down the drain} (39... Rb8 $142 $16) 40. Bd4 $18 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Koyahata, Taku"]
[Black "Kimura, Yusei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D06"]
[WhiteElo "1349"]
[BlackElo "1009"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "63"]

{D06: Queen's Gambit: Symmetrical and Baltic Defences} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Be6 $146
(2... g6 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qa5 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bd2 c6 7. e4 Qb6 8. Bc4 Bxd4 9.
Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Qb3 Qg7 11. O-O Nd7 12. Rfe1 Ne5 13. f4 Nxc4 14. Qxc4 Nh6 15. Qc5
Bd7 16. Rad1 b6 17. Qa3 {Stahlberg,G-Alekhine,A Kemeri 1937 1/2-1/2 (68)}) (
2... b6 3. Nc3 (3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qd6 5. Nb5 Qb4+ 6. Nc3 e6 7. e4 Nf6 8. Qd2
Bb7 9. e5 Ne4 10. Nxe4 Qxd2+ 11. Nxd2 Nc6 12. Ngf3 O-O-O 13. Nb3 Nb4 14. Kd1 c5
15. Ng5 Rd7 16. Bb5 Bc6 17. Bxc6 Nxc6 {Grivas,E (2200)-Kanelatos,P (2200)
Kallithea 1979 1-0 (65)}) 3... Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Qb3 O-O 7. Be2 dxc4
8. Bxc4 b5 9. Be2 a6 10. O-O Nbd7 11. e4 e6 12. a4 bxa4 13. Qxa4 c5 14. dxc5
Nxc5 15. Qc6 Nb3 16. Qxa8 Nxa1 17. e5 {Soppe,G (2455)-Iglesias,J (2300) Buenos
Aires 1995 1/2-1/2 (39)}) (2... a6 3. cxd5 Nf6 4. Nf3 g6 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 O-O
7. O-O Nxd5 8. e4 Nb6 9. h3 c5 10. d5 e6 11. Nc3 Nc4 12. Bg5 Qa5 13. Qa4 Qxa4
14. Nxa4 Nd7 15. Rac1 Nxb2 16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. Rxc5 {Niklasch,O (2363)-Buecker,S
(2341) Germany 2000 1-0 (57)}) (2... dxc4 3. e3 $11) 3. c5 {This push gains
space} (3. cxd5 Bxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 $14) 3... Nc6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. e3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 {
White has the pair of bishops} e5 {Black threatens to win material: e5xd4} 7.
Bb5 exd4 8. exd4 Qe7+ 9. Be3 Qe6 10. O-O Nf6 11. Nc3 Be7 12. Rfe1 O-O $2 (12...
Ne4 $16) 13. Re2 $4 {hands over the advantage to the opponent} (13. Bg5 $5 Nxd4
14. Qd3 c6 15. Qxd4 Qd7 $18) 13... b6 $2 (13... Ne4 $5 $14 {should be examined
more closely}) 14. Bxc6 (14. Qg3 $5 Ne4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 $18) 14... Qxc6 $16 15.
cxb6 (15. Bg5 Rfe8 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nxd5 Kf8 18. Nxf6 Qxf6 19. Rxe8+ Rxe8 20.
Qxf6 gxf6 $16) 15... axb6 $14 16. Rc1 (16. Bg5 Rfe8 $14) 16... Rfc8 (16... Rfe8
$5 $11) 17. Bg5 $14 Kf8 $4 (17... Re8 18. Rce1 h6 19. Bxh6 $16) 18. Bxf6 (18.
Rxe7 $142 {and White wins} h6 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Qxf6 gxf6 21. Rce1 $18) 18...
Bxf6 $14 19. Rec2 Ra5 $2 (19... Rd8 $142 $14) 20. Ne4 $4 {spoils everything} (
20. b4 $142 {the advantage is on the side of White} Ra3 21. Qf5 $16) 20... dxe4
$19 21. Qf4 (21. Qh3 {cannot change destiny} Qe6 22. Qxh7 g6 $19) 21... Bg5 22.
Qxg5 (22. Qg4 {does not help much} Qe6 23. Qxe6 fxe6 24. Re1 Rxa2 25. h3 $19)
22... Rxg5 (22... Qxc2 $142 $1 {secures victory} 23. Rxc2 Rxg5 $19) 23. Rxc6
$11 Ra5 24. Rxb6 cxb6 {Black has a mate threat.} (24... Rxa2 25. Rb7 $11) 25.
Rxc8+ $14 Ke7 26. Rc7+ Ke8 27. a3 Rd5 {Black threatens to win material: Rd5xd4}
28. Rc4 f5 29. g3 g5 (29... Kd7 30. f3 $16) 30. b4 (30. Rc6 Rxd4 31. Kf1 f4 $16
) 30... Ke7 (30... Kd7 31. Kf1 $16) 31. a4 (31. Rc7+ Ke6 32. Rxh7 Rxd4 33. Rh6+
Ke5 $14) 31... Kf6 $2 (31... f4 $142 $5 $14 {would keep Black in the game}) 32.
Rc6+ $18 (32. Rc6+ Ke7 33. Rxb6 Rxd4 34. a5 $18) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "2.8"]
[White "Kudo, Soichiro"]
[Black "Ito, Katsuhide"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B20"]
[WhiteElo "952"]
[BlackElo "1328"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "66"]

{B20: Sicilian: Unusual White 2nd moves} 1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qf3 $146 {
White has a mate threat} (3. a3 Nf6 (3... g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nge2 e6 6. d3 Nge7
7. Bg5 h6 8. Bf4 a6 9. Qd2 b5 10. Ba2 Bb7 11. O-O Qa5 12. Bb3 Rc8 13. Bd6 Qb6
14. Bf4 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 16. Rae1 Kf7 17. Qd1 h5 18. Bg5 {Bradaric,R (2210)
-Bistric,F (2425) Kastel Stari 1997 0-1}) (3... e6 4. Nc3 Nge7 5. d3 g6 6. Bg5
Bg7 7. Qd2 h6 8. Bf4 d6 9. Nge2 a6 10. O-O b5 11. Bb3 Bb7 12. f3 Rc8 13. Nd1 d5
14. c3 e5 15. Bg3 O-O 16. Nf2 Kh7 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Ne4 {Bradaric,R (2210)
-Hulak,K (2525) Kastel Stari 1997 0-1}) 4. d3 e6 5. Nd2 d5 6. Ba2 Be7 7. Ngf3
O-O 8. O-O b5 9. e5 Nd7 10. Re1 a5 11. c3 b4 12. d4 bxc3 13. bxc3 cxd4 14. cxd4
Ba6 15. Bb1 Rc8 16. Nf1 Bxf1 17. Rxf1 Re8 {Nikolic,S (2375)-Kinlay,J (2260)
Caorle 1981 1-0 (47)}) (3. d3 e6 (3... g6 4. Ne2 Bg7 5. O-O e6 6. Nbc3 Nge7 7.
Bb3 O-O 8. Be3 Nd4 9. Qd2 Nec6 10. Bh6 b5 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Ne2
Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 Bb7 15. c3 Qb6 16. Rfd1 b4 17. d4 cxd4 18. cxd4 {Bates,C (2205)
-McClement,A (2169) Purley 2013 1/2-1/2}) 4. c3 a6 5. Bb3 Be7 6. f4 d5 7. Nf3
dxe4 8. dxe4 Qxd1+ 9. Bxd1 b6 10. Be3 Bb7 11. Nbd2 Nf6 12. h3 h6 13. Bc2 Bd8
14. Bg1 Bc7 15. Bh2 O-O-O 16. O-O-O Rhf8 {1/2-1/2 (16) Kozel,R (2361)-Kuzmin,G
(2546) Ukraina 1999}) (3. Nf3 Nf6 $11) 3... Nf6 4. Nh3 (4. Nc3 $5 $15 {is
noteworthy}) 4... Nd4 $17 5. Qf4 $4 {further deteriorates the position} (5. Qd1
$142 d5 6. exd5 $17) 5... Nxc2+ $19 6. Kd1 Nxa1 7. Ng5 (7. b3 {is no salvation}
d5 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 $19) 7... e6 (7... d5 {and Black can already relax
} 8. Bxd5 e6 9. Bc4 $19) 8. Nc3 (8. b3 {does not improve anything} h6 9. Nf3 a6
$19) 8... d5 (8... h6 $142 {makes it even easier for Black} 9. Nxf7 Kxf7 10. e5
$19) 9. exd5 Bd6 10. Qf3 e5 (10... h6 $142 {and Black can already relax} 11.
Nge4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 O-O $19) 11. Nb5 (11. Nge4 {is the last straw} h5 12. Qe3
$19) 11... Bg4 12. Nxd6+ Qxd6 13. Bb5+ Ke7 (13... Kf8 $142 {keeps an even
firmer grip} 14. Bd3 Bxf3+ 15. gxf3 Qxd5 16. Bb1 $19) 14. h3 Bxf3+ 15. Nxf3
Qxd5 16. Re1 e4 17. Nh4 c4 18. f3 Kd6 (18... Qxb5 $5 {seems even better} 19.
fxe4 Qa4+ 20. Ke2 $19) 19. Ba4 b5 20. Bxb5 Qxb5 21. fxe4 Qe5 (21... Qa4+ $142 {
makes sure everything is clear} 22. Ke2 Nc2 23. Nf5+ Kc7 24. Rd1 Nxe4 25. Kf1
Ng3+ 26. Kg1 Nxf5 27. d4 cxd3 28. Rf1 $19) 22. Nf3 Qxe4 (22... Qg3 $142 {
ends the debate} 23. e5+ Kd5 24. Re3 $19) 23. Rxe4 Nxe4 24. d3 cxd3 25. Bf4+
Kd5 26. b4 Rhe8 27. Be3 Rac8 28. a4 (28. a3 {cannot undo what has already been
done} Rc2 29. Ke1 Ng3 30. Kd1 Rxe3 31. Ne1 Ne4 32. Nxc2 dxc2+ 33. Kc1 Rb3 34.
g4 Rb1#) 28... Nc3+ (28... Rc3 29. Ke1 Nc2+ 30. Kf1 Nxe3+ 31. Kg1 Rc1+ 32. Kh2
Nf1+ 33. Kg1 Nfg3+ 34. Ne1 Rxe1+ 35. Kh2 Rh1#) 29. Kc1 (29. Kd2 {is not much
help} Kc4 30. a5 Nb3+ 31. Ke1 Rxe3+ 32. Kf2 Rxf3+ 33. gxf3 d2 34. h4 d1=Q 35.
Kg2 Nd2 36. a6 Qxf3+ 37. Kh2 Nf1+ 38. Kg1 Ne2#) 29... Rxe3 30. Ng5 (30. a5 {
does not solve anything} Nd1+ $1 {Clearance: c3} 31. Kb1 Rc2 32. Kxa1 Nc3 33.
a6 Ra2#) 30... Nxa4+ (30... Re2 31. Nxh7 Rc2#) 31. Kd2 (31. Kb1 {doesn't get
the cat off the tree} d2 32. Kxa1 d1=Q+ 33. Ka2 Rc2#) 31... Kd4 (31... Re2+ 32.
Kxd3 Rcc2 33. Nxh7 Nb2#) 32. Nxh7 (32. Nf3+ {does not save the day} Rxf3 $1 {
Mate attack} 33. gxf3 Re8 34. Kc1 Re1+ 35. Kd2 Rf1 36. h4 Nb3#) 32... Nb3+ 33.
Kd1 Rc1# (33... Nc3#) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Yamada, Akihiro"]
[Black "Drakakis, Athanasios"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "1970"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "40"]

{D36: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation: Main line (5 Bg5 c6 6 Qc2)} 
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Qc2 c6 7. e3 h6 8. Bh4
Qa5 (8... Be6 9. Bd3 Nh5 10. Bg3 Nd7 11. Nge2 O-O 12. O-O Rc8 13. Rad1 b5 14.
Nf4 Nxf4 15. Bxf4 b4 16. Ne2 Qb6 17. Qd2 c5 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Bb1 Rfd8 20. Nd4
Bf8 21. Qe2 Bd7 22. Qf3 Qf6 23. Rfe1 {Speelman,J (2630)-Ljubojevic,L (2600)
Reykjavik 1991 1/2-1/2 (31)}) 9. Bd3 Na6 10. Qb3 $146 (10. Qd2 Be6 11. Nf3 O-O
12. O-O Nb8 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Ne4 Qd8 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. b4 Nd7 17. b5 c5 18.
dxc5 Nxc5 19. Rfc1 Rfc8 20. Nd4 Bd7 21. a4 Ne6 22. Nb3 g6 23. Be2 d4 24. Nxd4
Nc5 {Macedo,M (2368)-Pingas,B (2259) Natal 2013 1/2-1/2 (48)}) 10... O-O 11.
Nge2 Re8 12. O-O Nc7 13. Rac1 Ne6 14. Bb1 g6 {Prevents intrusion on f5} 15.
Rfd1 Ng7 16. a3 {Secures b4} Nf5 (16... Qb6 17. Qa2 $11) 17. Bg3 (17. Bxf6 $5 {
looks like a viable alternative} Bxf6 18. Bxf5 Bxf5 19. Qxb7 $14) 17... Nxg3
$15 18. Nxg3 {Black has the pair of bishops} Rb8 19. Qc2 Bd6 20. Qd2 Qd8
1/2-1/2

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Numata, Takeshi"]
[Black "Aoki, Yasuhiro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "1656"]
[BlackElo "1778"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "65"]

{A21: English Opening: 1...e5 2 Nc3} 1. Nf3 d6 2. g3 e5 3. d3 f5 4. Bg2 Nf6 5.
O-O Be7 6. c4 O-O 7. Nc3 Na6 8. a3 $146 {Covers b4} (8. Rb1 c6 9. b4 Nc7 10. c5
(10. b5 c5 11. e3 Kh8 12. a4 Ne6 13. Bb2 Rb8 14. Nd2 Bd7 15. f4 Ng4 16. Re1 Nc7
17. h3 Nh6 18. a5 Be6 19. b6 axb6 20. axb6 Na8 21. Na4 Nxb6 22. Nxb6 Qxb6 23.
Bxe5 Qc7 24. Bc3 Ng8 {Mikhalevski,V (2539)-Bartel,M (2644) Biel 2014 1/2-1/2 
(32)}) (10. a4 Kh8 11. Bb2 Qe8 12. b5 Qh5 13. bxc6 bxc6 14. c5 f4 15. cxd6 Bxd6
16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 Ne8 18. Qc2 Bd7 19. Bxe5 Bxe5 20. Qc5 Nf6 21. Qxe5 fxg3
22. hxg3 Qg4 23. Rb7 Rae8 24. Qd6 Bc8 {Shushpanov,V (2375)-Popov,V (2430) St
Petersburg 1995 1-0 (40)}) 10... Kh8 11. cxd6 Bxd6 12. b5 cxb5 13. Nxb5 Nxb5
14. Rxb5 a6 15. Rb1 Rb8 16. a4 b5 17. axb5 axb5 18. d4 e4 19. Ne5 Qe8 20. Bf4
Qe6 21. f3 Qd5 22. fxe4 Nxe4 {Kamsky,G (2695)-Malaniuk,V (2595) Moscow 1994
0-1 (52)}) (8. Ne1 c6 9. f4 Qe8 10. e3 exf4 11. gxf4 Be6 12. Nf3 Bd8 13. Kh1
Bf7 14. Bd2 Bh5 15. Qe2 Nc5 16. b4 Nce4 17. Qe1 Nxd2 18. Qxd2 Bb6 19. Rae1 a6
20. c5 Bc7 21. cxd6 Bxd6 22. Ne2 Nd5 {Rinberg,A (2335)-Grinshpun,E (2390) Tel
Aviv 1995 0-1 (36)}) 8... c6 {Consolidates b5+d5} 9. b4 Nc7 10. Bb2 Kh8 11. Nd2
Qe8 12. e3 Be6 13. Rc1 Qg6 14. Qe2 Qh6 {[%cal Yf5f4] Black prepares the
advance f4} 15. Rfd1 Rae8 16. b5 {White wins space} f4 {Black gets more space}
17. e4 $2 (17. exf4 $142 $5 {and White could well hope to play on} exf4 18.
bxc6 $15) 17... Ng4 $17 18. Nf1 $4 {another step towards the grave} (18. Nf3
$142 $17) 18... fxg3 $19 19. f3 (19. fxg3 {a fruitless try to alter the course
of the game} d5 $1 {Deflection: b5} 20. Na4 dxc4 $19) 19... Nxh2 (19... gxh2+
$142 $5 {keeps an even firmer grip} 20. Kh1 Bh4 21. fxg4 $19) 20. Nxg3 Bg5 21.
Nh1 (21. Re1 {hoping against hope} Bf4 22. Qf2 $19) 21... Be3+ 22. Nf2 Ng4 $3 {
Deflection: f3} 23. fxg4 Rxf2 24. Qxf2 Bxf2+ 25. Kxf2 Rf8+ 26. Kg1 Qe3+ 27. Kh1
Rf6 28. Bf1 (28. g5 {is not the saving move} Rf4 29. Rc2 Rh4+ 30. Bh3 Rxh3+ 31.
Rh2 Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Rg3+ 33. Rg2 Qxg2#) 28... Rh6+ 29. Kg2 Qh3+ (29... Rh3 30. Ne2
Qf3+ 31. Kg1 Rh1#) 30. Kf2 Rf6+ 31. Ke2 (31. Ke1 {does not win a prize} Qxf1+
32. Kd2 Rf2+ 33. Ke3 Qg2 34. bxc6 Qg3#) 31... Bxg4+ (31... Qh2+ 32. Bg2 Qxg2+
33. Ke3 Rf3#) 32. Kd2 $19 Bxd1 (32... Rf2+ $142 {it becomes clear that Black
will call all the shots} 33. Ne2 Qh6+ 34. Kc3 Bxe2 35. Bxe2 Rxe2 $19) 33. Bxh3
$18 (33. Bxh3 Rf2+ 34. Kxd1 Rxb2 35. bxc6 bxc6 36. c5 dxc5 37. Ne2 $18) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Hakamada, Eiji"]
[Black "Sato, Tsubasa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A16"]
[WhiteElo "1432"]
[BlackElo "1677"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "66"]

{A16: English Opening: 1...Nf6 with ...d5} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 b6 $146 (
3... d6 4. Nf3 c5 5. Be2 g6 6. a3 Nc6 7. d3 Bg7 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd5
O-O 11. b4 Bg7 12. b5 Ne7 13. Nd2 Nxd5 14. cxd5 a6 15. bxa6 b5 16. O-O Bd7 17.
Qb3 Rxa6 18. Nb1 {Dogodkina,J (2193)-Bhakti,K (2317) Chennai 2011 0-1 (47)}) (
3... Be7 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. d3 d6 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. O-O c6 9. f4 h5 10. h3
Qc7 11. d4 O-O-O 12. Be3 Kb8 13. d5 h4 14. dxc6 Bxc6 15. a4 hxg3 16. Nd5 Bxd5
17. cxd5 Rc8 18. Rc1 {Khmiadashvili,T (2210)-Erenska Barlo,H (2293) Arvier
2006 1/2-1/2 (50)}) (3... g6 4. Nf3 d6 5. Be2 Bg7 6. O-O c5 7. d3 O-O 8. Bg5 h6
9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd5 Bg7 11. b4 Nc6 12. b5 Ne7 13. Nd2 Nxd5 14. cxd5 f5 15. Rb1
f4 16. Bg4 h5 17. Bxc8 Rxc8 18. h3 {Hauge,T (2205)-Lie,E (2168) Norway 2002
1-0 (56)}) 4. Nf3 d6 {Secures e5} 5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 {Black is behind in
developement} Bb7 {Black threatens to win material: Bb7xe4} 7. Bd3 {Black is
behind in developement} Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. Re1 {Black has a
cramped position} Re8 11. Nf3 (11. Bc2 h6 12. Be3 Ne5 $14) 11... Ng4 12. Bxe7
Rxe7 13. Nd5 Re8 14. h3 {White threatens to win material: h3xg4} Ngf6 15. b4 {
Black has a cramped position} c6 {Black threatens to win material: c6xd5} 16.
Nc3 Rc8 {Black has a cramped position} 17. Bc2 Ne5 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 (18... dxe5
19. Qc1 $11) 19. Qd2 b5 (19... Ba6 20. Bb3 $11) 20. Rad1 (20. Red1 $142 $16)
20... Ne8 $2 (20... bxc4 $142 {is the best option Black has} 21. Qd4 Qe7 $11)
21. c5 $1 $18 {Deflection: d6} d5 $2 (21... dxc5 22. Qe3 {Discovered attack} (
22. Qxd8 {Deflection Pinning})) 22. f4 (22. exd5 {seems even better} Rxe1+ 23.
Rxe1 cxd5 24. Nxb5 a6 $18) 22... Rh5 (22... Re7 23. exd5 cxd5 24. Nxb5 $18) 23.
exd5 cxd5 24. Qe2 (24. Nxb5 {might be the shorter path} a6 25. Nd4 g6 $18)
24... Nf6 (24... g6 25. Qxb5 Rb8 26. Ba4 $18) 25. Qe7 (25. Ne4 $5 {seems even
better} Nxe4 26. Qxh5 Nf6 $18) 25... Bc6 26. Qxa7 Ra8 (26... Kf8 27. Bd3 Ra8
28. Qb6 Qxb6 29. cxb6 $18) 27. Qe7 d4 $2 (27... Qb8 28. Rd4 Rh4 29. Nxd5 Bxd5
30. Rxd5 Nxd5 31. Qxh4 Nf6 $18) 28. Qxd8+ Rxd8 29. g4 (29. a4 $142 {and White
can celebrate victory} bxa4 30. Bxa4 $18) 29... Rxh3 $17 30. Ne4 $4 {another
bit of territory lost} (30. Be4 $142 Rg3+ 31. Kh2 Nxe4 32. Nxe4 Rxg4 33. Nd6
$17) 30... Nxg4 $19 31. Kg2 (31. Rd3 {is not the saving move} Ne3 32. Rexe3
Rxe3 $19) 31... Rh2+ (31... Rc3 $142 {and Black takes home the point} 32. Bb3
Ne3+ 33. Kg1 Bxe4 $19) 32. Kg3 Rxc2 33. Kxg4 Rxa2 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Shibuya, Kaisei"]
[Black "Manabe, Hiroaki"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B02"]
[WhiteElo "1529"]
[BlackElo "1755"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "86"]

{B02: Alekhine's Defence: Chase Variation and lines with early Nc3} 1. e4 Nf6
2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 4. Nxd5 Qxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. d4 Bg4 (6... e5 7. Be3 exd4
8. Nxd4 a6 9. Nxc6 Qxc6 10. Qd4 Be7 11. O-O-O Bf6 12. Qb4 Be6 13. Bd3 a5 14.
Qe4 Qxe4 15. Bxe4 O-O 16. Bd5 Rfe8 17. Bxe6 Rxe6 18. Rd7 Be5 19. Rhd1 Bd6 20.
Bb6 Bf4+ 21. Be3 {Musalov,R (2399)-Balashov,Y (2426) Taganrog 2011 1/2-1/2}) 7.
Be2 O-O-O 8. c3 e5 {Black threatens to win material: e5xd4} 9. Be3 $146 (9. O-O
exd4 10. Nxd4 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 Nxd4 12. cxd4 Bd6 13. Rd1 Rhe8 14. Qd3 Re6 15. Bd2
Rg6 16. g3 h5 17. Re1 f5 18. Qb3 Qxb3 19. axb3 a6 20. Ra5 Rf8 21. f4 h4 22. Kg2
Kd7 23. Kf3 hxg3 {Hodak,S (2187)-Kalajzic,I (2249) Croatia 2009 0-1 (71)}) (9.
h3 Bh5 10. O-O exd4 11. cxd4 Bd6 $15) 9... exd4 $15 10. Bxd4 Qh5 (10... Nxd4
11. Qxd4 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Qxd4 13. cxd4 Bb4+ 14. Ke2 Rxd4 15. Rhd1 Re8+ 16. Kf1
$17) 11. h3 Bc5 (11... Nxd4 $5 12. Nxd4 Re8 $15) 12. O-O $11 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 $2 (
13. cxd4 $142 {would allow White to play on} Be6 14. Qc2 $11) 13... Bxe2 $17
14. Qxe2 Qxe2 15. Nxe2 Rd2 16. b4 Rxe2 17. bxc5 Kd7 18. a4 Kc6 19. Rfe1 Rhe8
20. Red1 Rc2 21. Re1 Ree2 22. Rxe2 Rxe2 23. Rd1 (23. f3 a5 $19) 23... Re7 (
23... Re4 24. Ra1 $19) 24. Rb1 (24. Rd4 $142 $19) 24... Re2 25. Rd1 Rc2 (25...
Re4 26. Ra1 $19) 26. Rd3 $17 f6 27. g4 g6 28. Kg2 Kxc5 $4 {letting the wind
out of his own sails} (28... a5 $142 $17 {Black has the better game}) 29. Rd7
$11 Kb6 (29... b5 $142 $5 {would keep Black alive} 30. axb5 Kxb5 31. Rxc7 a5
32. Rxh7 Rxc3 $11) 30. Rxh7 $16 Rxc3 31. Rh6 c5 $4 {causes further problems
for ?} (31... g5 $142 32. Rxf6+ Ka5 $16) 32. Rxg6 $18 c4 (32... Rd3 33. Rxf6+
Kc7 34. g5 $18) 33. Rxf6+ Ka5 (33... Kc5 34. Rf5+ Kd6 35. g5 $18) 34. g5 Rd3
35. g6 Rd8 36. Rf4 $4 {White threatens to win material: Rf4xc4. what a pity,
victory was in sight} (36. h4 $142 {makes it even easier for White} c3 37. Rf5+
Kb4 38. Rb5+ Kc4 39. Rxb7 $18) 36... Kb4 $4 (36... Rg8 37. Rxc4 Rxg6+ 38. Rg4
Rh6 $14) 37. g7 (37. h4 $142 {secures the point} Kc5 38. g7 $18) 37... Rg8 $11
{Black threatens to win material: Rg8xg7} 38. Rf7 {White threatens to win
material: Rf7xb7} a5 $4 {stumbles just before the finish line} (38... c3 $142 {
would be a reprieve} 39. Rxb7+ Kxa4 40. Rxa7+ Kb3 41. Rb7+ Ka2 $11) 39. Rxb7+
$18 Kxa4 (39... Kc5 {is one last hope} 40. Kf3 c3 $18) 40. Kf1 (40. Kf3 $142 {
keeps an even firmer grip} c3 41. Ke2 $18) 40... Re8 (40... c3 41. Ke2 Rd8 42.
h4 Rd2+ 43. Ke3 $18) 41. Re7 (41. h4 c3 42. h5 Rc8 43. Rb1 c2 44. Rc1 Kb3 45.
h6 Kb2 46. Rxc2+ Kxc2 47. h7 Kc3 48. h8=R Rxh8 49. gxh8=Q+ Kc4 50. f4 Kd5 51.
f5 a4 52. f6 Ke6 53. Qg7 a3 54. f7 a2 55. f8=Q a1=R+ 56. Qxa1 Kd5 57. Qf5+ Kc4
58. Qa4+ Kc3 59. Qfc2#) 41... Rd8 (41... Rc8 {doesn't get the bull off the ice}
42. h4 c3 43. h5 $18) 42. Rd7 (42. h4 {might be the shorter path} c3 43. h5 c2
$18) 42... Re8 (42... Rxd7 {is still a small chance} 43. g8=Q Rd4 $18) 43. Re7
Rd8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Ito, Katsuhide"]
[Black "Watanabe, Katsumi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "1328"]
[BlackElo "1732"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "69"]

{C41: Philidor Defence} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7 4. Be2 Ngf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6.
O-O O-O 7. h3 b6 (7... c6 8. a4 b6 9. Re1 Bb7 10. Bf1 a6 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bh4 b5
13. Bg3 Qc7 14. Qd2 Rfe8 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Bxa8 17. Nd1 Bf8 18. Bd3 Qb6
19. c3 exd4 20. cxd4 c5 21. e5 Nh5 22. Bf5 {Handoko,E (2500)-Koshy,V (2405)
Dhaka 1995 1-0 (37)}) (7... Re8 8. Re1 c6 9. a4 Qc7 10. Bf1 b6 11. Bg5 a6 12.
g3 Bb7 13. Bg2 b5 14. axb5 axb5 15. Rxa8 Rxa8 16. d5 h6 17. dxc6 Bxc6 18. Bd2
Nc5 19. Nh4 Qb7 20. Nf5 Bf8 21. Qf3 b4 22. Nd5 {Pujos,S (2249)-Jossien,A (2307)
Cannes 1999 0-1 (44)}) 8. Be3 {Black has a cramped position} Bb7 $146 (8... c6
9. a4 a6 10. Nd2 Bb7 11. f4 b5 12. a5 Re8 13. Bf3 Bf8 14. g4 b4 15. Ne2 exd4
16. Bxd4 c5 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Ng3 h6 19. c3 bxc3 20. bxc3 Qc7 21. Rb1 Bc6 22.
h4 Rab8 23. g5 {Huebner,L (2235)-Schmaltz,R (2440) Boeblingen 1996 0-1 (47)})
9. d5 {White gains space} c5 (9... c6 10. Bc4 $11) 10. dxc6 {White forks: b7+d7
} (10. a4 $5 $14) 10... Bxc6 $11 11. Nd5 {A beautiful square!} (11. Qd3 $5 $11
{should not be overlooked}) 11... Nxe4 $15 12. Qd3 f5 $4 {there were better
ways to keep up the pressure} (12... Ndc5 13. Qd1 $17) 13. b4 $4 {a weak move,
ruining a winning position} (13. Nxe7+ $142 {a shame that White overlooked
this excellent chance} Qxe7 14. Qc4+ Kh8 15. Qxc6 $18) 13... Rc8 14. c4 Bg5 {
[%cal Yf5f4] Black intends f4} 15. Nxg5 Nxg5 16. h4 (16. Bd2 $15) 16... f4 (
16... Ne4 $142 $5 $17) 17. hxg5 $11 fxe3 18. Qxe3 Bxd5 19. cxd5 Rf5 (19... Rf4
$142 $5 $11 {is worth consideration}) 20. f4 $16 g6 $2 (20... Rf7 $142 21. Bh5
Re7 $16) 21. Bg4 $18 exf4 (21... a5 $18) 22. Qe6+ Kh8 23. Bxf5 gxf5 24. Rxf4 (
24. Qxd6 $142 {and White can already relax} Nf8 25. Qe5+ Kg8 26. Rxf4 Qd7 $18)
24... Ne5 (24... Qxg5 {does not win a prize} 25. Rxf5 Qg7 26. Raf1 $18) 25.
Rxf5 Ng6 (25... Qe8 {doesn't do any good} 26. Qxd6 Ng6 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Qe6+
Qxe6 29. dxe6 $18) 26. Raf1 (26. Rf7 $142 {and White has it in the bag} Rc7 27.
Raf1 Rxf7 28. Rxf7 $18) 26... Qe8 27. Qxd6 Rd8 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Qe6+ Qxe6 30.
dxe6 Re8 31. Re1 Re7 32. Rf6 Kg7 (32... Re8 {cannot undo what has already been
done} 33. Kf2 $18) 33. Rd1 Nf8 34. Rd6 Kg8 (34... b5 $18 {otherwise it's
curtains at once}) 35. Rd8 (35. Rd8 Kg7 36. Rdxf8 Rxe6 37. R8f7+ Kg8 38. Rxa7
Re8 39. Rxb6 Kf8 40. Kf2 Kg8 41. Rbb7 Kf8 42. Kf3 Rc8 43. Rxh7 Kg8 44. Rag7+
Kf8 45. Rc7 Kg8 46. Rxc8+ Kxh7 47. Rc7+ Kg8 48. b5 Kf8 49. b6 Ke8 50. b7 Kd8
51. b8=Q#) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "Yoshii, Yukihiko"]
[Black "Koyahata, Taku"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "1828"]
[BlackElo "1349"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "57"]

{A28: English Opening: Four Knights Variation} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6
4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Ne5 (5... g6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. g3 Bg7 8. Bg2 Rb8 9. O-O c5 10.
Qa4 a6 11. Qc2 O-O 12. Bd2 Re8 13. Rad1 d6 14. Rfe1 Be6 15. b3 Qd7 16. Bg5 h6
17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Ne4 Qe7 19. Nxf6+ Qxf6 20. Qd2 {Mohr,G (2470)-Zagrebelny,S 
(2480) Elista 1998 1/2-1/2 (41)}) 6. e4 $146 (6. f4 Nxc4 7. e4 d5 8. Bxc4 dxc4
9. Qa4+ Bd7 10. Qxc4 c5 11. Nf3 Be6 12. Qb5+ Qd7 13. f5 Qxb5 14. Nxb5 Bc4 15.
Nc7+ Kd8 16. Nxa8 Nxe4 17. Bf4 Kc8 18. Ne5 Bd6 19. Nxc4 Bxf4 20. O-O Bb8 {
Castiglione,M (2282)-Pagerka,M (2200) Slovakia 2011 1-0}) (6. Bf4 Ng6 7. Bg3
Nh5 8. e3 Nxg3 9. hxg3 Bb4 10. Qb3 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 d6 12. f4 Bg4 13. Bd3 Qd7 14.
Nf3 O-O 15. e4 Rfe8 16. O-O-O Qc6 17. Rde1 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Qc5 19. Re2 Re7 20.
Bc2 a5 {Cabrilo,G (2482)-Zivkovic,I (2320) Vrnjacka Banja 2009 1-0 (66)}) 6...
Bc5 7. Be2 c6 {Controls b5} (7... d6 8. f4 Ned7 9. O-O $11) 8. O-O (8. Nb3 $5
Bb4 9. Qd4 $16) 8... O-O (8... d6 9. h3 $11) 9. Bg5 {Black has a cramped
position. Black's piece can't move: c8} (9. Nb3 Be7 $14) 9... h6 {Black
threatens to win material: h6xg5} (9... d6 10. h3 $11) 10. Bh4 (10. Bxf6 Qxf6
11. Nb3 Qe7 $14) 10... d6 (10... Ng6 11. Bg3 Re8 12. Qd3 $11) 11. h3 {White
has an active position} (11. Nf5 Re8 12. Na4 Bxf5 13. exf5 Qe7 $11) 11... Be6 (
11... Re8 12. Bg3 $11) 12. b3 Kh7 (12... Re8 13. a3 $11) 13. Kh1 (13. Nxe6 $5
fxe6 14. Qc2 $14) 13... Ng6 $11 {Black threatens to win material: Ng6xh4} 14.
Bg3 Ne5 $4 {weakening the position} (14... Bb4 $142 {and Black hangs on} 15.
Nxe6 fxe6 $11) 15. f4 $18 Nfd7 $2 (15... Ned7 $142 16. f5 Bxc4 17. Bxc4 Qa5 $18
) 16. fxe5 Nxe5 (16... Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Qg5 18. Qf2 dxe5 19. Rad1 $18) 17. Qd2 (
17. Na4 {seems even better} Qe7 18. Nxc5 dxc5 19. Bxe5 cxd4 20. Qxd4 Rad8 $18)
17... Bxd4 (17... Qa5 18. Rfd1 $18) 18. Qxd4 Qc8 (18... f6 19. Rfd1 $18) 19.
Bxe5 (19. c5 $5 {keeps an even firmer grip} Nd7 20. cxd6 Kh8 $18) 19... dxe5
20. Qxe5 Re8 21. Qg3 b6 (21... Re7 {doesn't get the cat off the tree} 22. Rad1
$18) 22. Rad1 c5 (22... Kh8 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} 23. e5 $18
) 23. Bd3 Qb7 (23... Rb8 {doesn't improve anything} 24. e5+ Kh8 25. Qh4 $18)
24. e5+ g6 (24... Kh8 {hardly improves anything} 25. Be4 Qc7 26. Nb5 $18) 25.
Be4 Qa6 (25... Qc7 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} 26. Bxa8
Rxa8 27. Nd5 Bxd5 28. cxd5 $18) 26. Bxa8 (26. Bxg6+ Kg7 27. Bxf7+ Bg4 28. Qxg4+
Kh8 29. Rd6 b5 30. Rxa6 Re6 31. Qxe6 bxc4 32. Qxh6#) 26... Rxa8 $18 27. Qf3 (
27. Rxf7+ Bxf7 28. Qf3 Rf8 29. Rd8 Kg8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. e6 Qb7 32. Qxb7 Bxe6
33. Nd5 Bf7 34. Qe7+ Kg7 35. Nf6 h5 36. Nd7 Kh7 37. Qxf7+ Kh6 38. Nf8 Kg5 39.
Ne6+ Kh4 40. Qf4#) 27... Qc8 28. Ne4 Rb8 (28... Kg8 $18 {hoping against hope})
29. Nd6 (29. Nd6 Qd8 30. Nxf7 $18) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.7"]
[White "Kimura, Yusei"]
[Black "Sato, Yasuji"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C24"]
[WhiteElo "1009"]
[BlackElo "1555"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "52"]

{C24: Bishop's Opening: 2...Nf6} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. d3 Nf6 4. Bg5 h6 5.
Bxf6 $146 {White forks: e5, g7+d8} (5. Bh4 d6 6. c3 (6. Nd2 Nc6 7. c3 a6 8. Ne2
Ba7 9. Bb3 g5 10. Bg3 Nh5 11. Nc4 Nf4 12. Ne3 Be6 13. Kf1 Qf6 14. d4 exd4 15.
Nd5 Bxd5 16. exd5 Nxe2 17. Qxe2+ Ne7 18. h4 Kf8 19. Rh3 Nf5 20. Kg1 dxc3 {
Conquest,S (2485)-Howell,J (2465) Hafnarfirdi 1992 0-1 (51)}) 6... Qe7 7. Nd2
Nbd7 (7... a6 8. Nf1 Be6 9. Bb3 c6 10. Bc2 Nbd7 11. Qe2 Nf8 12. Bg3 g5 13. h4
Ng6 14. hxg5 hxg5 15. Rxh8+ Nxh8 16. Qd2 Ng6 17. Qxg5 O-O-O 18. Ne2 Rg8 19. Qd2
d5 20. exd5 Bxd5 21. Ne3 Be6 22. d4 {Meister,J (2479)-Hoeckendorf,H (2185)
Berlin 2012 1-0}) 8. Bg3 Nf8 9. Ne2 Ng6 10. b4 Bb6 11. Qb3 a5 12. bxa5 Bxa5 13.
Qc2 O-O 14. Bb3 Be6 15. O-O d5 16. Rfd1 c6 17. c4 Rac8 18. c5 Rfd8 19. Nf3 Bg4
{Basman,M (2410)-Carleton,J (2200) Birmingham 1972 0-1 (43)}) 5... Qxf6 {
Black has a mate threat} 6. Nf3 d6 7. h3 {Secures g4} (7. a4 O-O $11) 7... O-O
(7... Qg6 8. g4 $15) 8. O-O $11 Nc6 9. c3 {Prevents intrusion on b4} Ne7 10. d4
exd4 (10... Bb6 $5 $15) 11. cxd4 $11 Bb6 {Black has a cramped position} 12. e5
{White threatens to win material: e5xf6} (12. Nc3 c6 $11) 12... Qg6 (12... dxe5
13. dxe5 Qf4 14. Nbd2 $15) 13. exd6 (13. Nh4 Qe4 14. Nf3 dxe5 $11) 13... Bxh3 {
Black has a mate threat} (13... Nc6 $142 14. d5 Bxh3 $15) 14. Ne1 $4 {allows
the opponent back into the game} (14. Nh4 $142 {and White can hope to survive}
Qxd6 15. gxh3 $11) 14... cxd6 (14... Bg4 $142 15. Be2 Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Qxd6 $19)
15. f3 $4 {the position was bad, and this mistake simply hastens the end} (15.
Nc3 $142 $17) 15... Nf5 $19 16. Rf2 Bxd4 17. Qc2 (17. Nc3 {the only chance to
get some counterplay} d5 18. Qxd4 Nxd4 19. Bxd5 $19) 17... Rae8 18. Nc3 (18.
Bxf7+ {cannot change destiny} Rxf7 19. Qc8 Bxf2+ 20. Kf1 Rxc8 21. Nd2 Bxe1 22.
gxh3 Re7 23. Rxe1 Nh4 24. Rxe7 Qg2+ 25. Ke1 Rc1#) 18... Bxf2+ (18... Rxe1+ 19.
Rxe1 Qxg2#) 19. Qxf2 $19 Ne3 20. Bd3 Bf5 21. Bxf5 (21. Be4 {is not much help}
d5 $1 {Deflection: e4} 22. Bxd5 Qb6 $19) 21... Nxf5 (21... Qxf5 $142 {and
Black can already relax} 22. Rc1 $19) 22. Nb5 (22. Nc2 {does not improve
anything} a6 $19) 22... a6 (22... Re5 $142 {might be the shorter path} 23. Nc3
Ng3 24. Qd2 $19) 23. Nd4 (23. Nc3 $19 {desperation}) 23... Nxd4 24. Qxd4 Re2
25. b3 (25. Qg4 {does not solve anything} Qxg4 26. fxg4 Rfe8 $19) 25... Rfe8
26. Qc3 (26. Qh4 {there is nothing better in the position} d5 27. f4 $19) 26...
Qg3 (26... Qg3 27. Rc1 Qf2+ 28. Kh2 R2e5 29. f4 Rh5+ 30. Qh3 Qxf4+ 31. Kg1 Rxh3
32. gxh3 Qxc1 33. Kg2 Qxe1 34. b4 Qe2+ 35. Kg1 Rc8 36. a4 Rc1#) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.25"]
[Round "3.8"]
[White "Sato, Takeru"]
[Black "Kudo, Sonosuke"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A40"]
[WhiteElo "1230"]
[BlackElo "952"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "49"]

{A40: Unusual replies to 1 d4} 1. d4 Nc6 2. Bf4 e6 (2... d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. c4 e6
5. Nc3 a6 6. c5 Be7 7. Rb1 O-O 8. b4 Ne4 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Bc4 b5 11. Be2 Nb8
12. a4 Qd7 13. Nh3 Bb7 14. axb5 axb5 15. O-O h6 16. Ra1 Na6 17. Ra5 {Barva,A 
(2360)-Horvath,K (2188) Hungary 2012 1/2-1/2 (68)}) 3. e3 Nf6 $146 (3... d5 4.
Nc3 Bd6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bg3 a6 7. a3 Ne7 8. Bd3 c5 9. O-O Bxg3 10. hxg3 Qc7 11.
e4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 e5 13. Nf3 d4 14. Ne2 O-O 15. c3 dxc3 16. Nxc3 Bg4 17. Rc1 Qb8
18. Qe1 {Buxade Roca,G (2201)-Grinberg,I (2279) Dresden 2007 1/2-1/2 (43)}) 4.
h3 {Prevents intrusion on g4} Bd6 5. Bxd6 cxd6 {Black has new doubled pawns:
d6+d7} 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Bd3 e5 8. dxe5 {White forks: d6+f6} (8. Nc3 $11) 8... Nxe5
(8... dxe5 $142 $5 {is an interesting idea} 9. Nfd2 d5 $15) 9. O-O Nxd3 10.
cxd3 d5 11. Nc3 d6 12. Qb3 Be6 13. Qxb7 Rb8 (13... a5 $5 $16) 14. Qxa7 Rxb2 15.
Rab1 Rxb1 16. Rxb1 Nd7 (16... Qc8 17. Qa5 $18) 17. d4 (17. Nd4 Qc8 $18) 17...
Qc8 18. Rb3 f5 $4 {the final mistake, not that it matters anymore} (18... Qc4
$142 $16) 19. Ng5 $18 Qe8 (19... Bf7 {there is nothing else anyway} 20. Rb7 h6
$18) 20. Rb7 f4 (20... Rf7 21. Nxf7 Kxf7 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Rxd7+ Ke6 24. Rxg7
$18) 21. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. Rxd7 fxe3 (22... Qh6 23. exf4 Rxf4 24. Rd8+ Rf8 25.
Rxf8+ Kxf8 26. Qb8+ Kf7 27. Qc7+ Kf8 28. Qc8+ Kf7 29. Qd7+ Kf8 30. Nxd5 Qc1+
31. Kh2 Qe1 32. Qxd6+ Kf7 33. Qd7+ Kf8 $18) 23. Rxg7+ Kh8 24. Rxh7+ Kg8 25.
Qg7# 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Yamada, Akihiro"]
[Black "Numata, Takeshi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "1970"]
[BlackElo "1656"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "194"]

{D94: Gr・feld: 4 Nf3 Bg7 5 e3} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qc2 g6 5. e3
Bf5 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 e6 (9... Nbd7 10. e4 (10. b3 a6
11. Bb2 b5 12. Rfc1 Qb8 13. Rc2 Rc8 14. Rac1 Qb7 15. Ne2 Ne4 16. Ng3 Nxg3 17.
hxg3 e6 18. Ne5 Nxe5 19. dxe5 dxc4 20. bxc4 Rd8 21. Qe4 b4 22. Bd4 Bf8 23. f4
Rab8 24. c5 Qd7 {Schein,K (2196)-Schnider,G (2314) Austria 2012 0-1 (45)})
10... dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 e6 13. Bf4 Re8 14. Rfe1 Qa5 15. Bd6 Qa6 16.
Ne5 Rad8 17. c5 f5 18. Qc2 Nf6 19. h4 Bf8 20. Nc4 Ne4 21. Be5 Bg7 22. f3 Bxe5
23. dxe5 Nxc5 24. Nd6 {Borges Mateos,J (2431)-Corrales Jimenez,F (2496) Havana
2006 1/2-1/2 (31)}) 10. b4 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Nd5 $146 (11... Nbd7 12. Rb1 Nb6 13.
Qb3 Nbd5 14. Na4 Re8 15. Nc5 Qe7 16. e4 Nb6 17. a4 a6 18. a5 Nc8 19. Bg5 Qc7
20. Ne5 Nd6 21. Qf3 Nh5 22. Qb3 Nb5 23. Nf3 Nxd4 24. Nxd4 Bxd4 25. Qc4 e5 26.
Rbd1 {Born,M (2206)-Rabl,J (2215) Wuerttemberg 1999 1/2-1/2}) 12. Rb1 Nxc3 13.
Qxc3 Qd5 {Black threatens to win material: Qd5xa2} 14. Qc2 Nd7 15. e4 {White
threatens to win material: e4xd5} Qh5 16. Rd1 Rfc8 17. Be3 Nf6 18. h3 {Black
has a cramped position} Bh6 19. Qd2 (19. Qe2 Rd8 $14) 19... Bxe3 (19... Nxe4
$142 20. Qd3 Nd6 $17) 20. Qxe3 $14 Kg7 {Black king safety dropped} 21. Rdc1 Qb5
22. Rc5 {White threatens to win material: Rc5xb5} Qb6 {Black has a cramped
position} 23. Rb3 a6 24. Ne5 Qd8 25. Rcc3 h5 (25... Nd7 26. Nc4 $14) 26. Rd3
Qe7 27. Qf4 Nd7 28. Nc4 Rf8 29. e5 f6 30. Qh4 Qd8 (30... Kh6 31. Qg3 $16) 31.
Qe4 (31. Rg3 $142 $5 Kh6 32. Qf4+ Kh7 33. Nd6 fxe5 34. Qe4 $16) 31... f5 $14
32. Qe2 Nb6 {Black threatens to win material: Nb6xc4} 33. Nd6 {The knight
dominates} Rb8 34. g3 (34. Rg3 Kh7 $14) 34... Nd5 {The knight likes it on d5}
35. a3 Qg5 36. Kh2 Qd8 (36... h4 37. Rd1 $11) 37. f4 (37. Rd1 Qg5 $11) 37...
Kh6 38. Rf3 Qe7 39. Rb1 Rg8 40. Qd2 Kh7 41. h4 Rgf8 42. a4 Qd7 43. b5 axb5 44.
axb5 cxb5 45. Rxb5 b6 46. Rfb3 Rfd8 47. Nc4 {White threatens to win material:
Nc4xb6} Qc6 48. Qd3 (48. Ne3 Nxe3 49. Qxe3 Kh6 $11) 48... Rd7 (48... Ra8 49.
Nd6 $15) 49. Rb2 Kg7 50. Ne3 Nxe3 51. Qxe3 Rd5 {Black threatens to win
material: Rd5xb5} 52. R5b3 b5 53. Rc3 Qb6 {[%cal Rb6d4,Rd5d4,Ge3d4] The
backward pawn on d4 becomes a target} 54. Rc5 Rbd8 55. Qe2 {[%cal Rb2b5,Rc5b5,
Re2b5,Gb6b5] The pressure on the isolated pawn grows} Rxc5 56. dxc5 Qxc5 57.
Rxb5 Qc6 58. Qb2 Rd7 59. Rb6 Qc8 (59... Rd2+ 60. Qxd2 Qxb6 61. Qg2 $11) 60. Rd6
(60. Rxe6 $142 $5 Rb7 61. Rb6 Rxb6 62. Qxb6 $16) 60... Kf7 61. Qb3 {White
threatens to win material: Qb3xe6} Rc7 62. Qd3 Ke7 63. Qa3 Kf7 64. Qd3 Ke7 65.
Qa3 Kf7 {Twofold repetition} 66. Rd2 Rd7 {Black threatens to win material:
Rd7xd2} 67. Qe3 Rc7 68. Qd3 Rc3 69. Qd7+ Qxd7 {Black has a mate threat} 70.
Rxd7+ Kg8 71. Re7 {White threatens to win material: Re7xe6} Rc6 72. Kg2 Kf8 {
Black threatens to win material: Kf8xe7} 73. Rd7 Rc2+ 74. Kf3 Rc3+ 75. Kf2 Rc2+
76. Ke3 Rc3+ 77. Rd3 {White threatens to win material: Rd3xc3} Rc2 78. Rd7 Rc3+
79. Rd3 Rc2 80. Kd4 Ke7 81. Rb3 Rd2+ 82. Kc4 Rc2+ 83. Kb5 Rc1 84. Kb6 Rc2 85.
Kb5 Rc1 {Twofold repetition} 86. Ra3 Rb1+ 87. Kc6 Rc1+ 88. Kb6 Rb1+ 89. Ka5 Rb2
90. Ka4 Rb1 91. Rb3 Rxb3 92. Kxb3 {A pawn endgame occured} Kd7 93. Kb4 Kc6 94.
Ka5 Kc5 95. Ka6 {[%cal Rc5d5] With the decisive threat Kd5} Kc6 96. Ka5 {
[%cal Rc6d5] White threatens strongly Kd5} Kc5 {Twofold repetition} 97. Ka4 {
[%cal Rc5c6] With the decisive threat Kc6} Kc4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Drakakis, Athanasios"]
[Black "Hakamada, Eiji"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[BlackElo "1432"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "61"]

{D02: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3 g3 and 2...Nf6 3 Bf4} 1. d4
d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Nc6 5. c3 Bd7 $146 (5... Bd6 6. Nbd2 (6. Bd3 Qe7
(6... O-O 7. Nbd2 Bd7 8. O-O Qe7 9. Ne5 h6 10. h3 Rfe8 11. b4 a6 12. a4 Red8
13. Qc2 Rdc8 14. Ndf3 Be8 15. b5 axb5 16. axb5 Na5 17. Rfb1 Nd7 18. Nxd7 Qxd7
19. Bh7+ Kh8 20. Bd3 Kg8 21. Ra2 {Domogaev,S (2365)-Tishin,P (2400) Tula 2010
1-0 (63)}) 7. Ne5 Bxe5 8. dxe5 Nd7 9. Bb5 O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. O-O Ba6 12. Re1
f6 13. exf6 Qxf6 14. Bg3 Nc5 15. Qd4 Nd3 16. Qxf6 Rxf6 17. Re2 Raf8 18. Rd2 Nc1
19. f3 Ne2+ 20. Kf2 Nxg3 {Schulz,K (2385)-Gohla,U (2181) Germany 2010 1/2-1/2 
(54)}) 6... Qe7 (6... Nd7 7. Bxd6 cxd6 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Nf6 10. Bd3 O-O 11.
O-O e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Qc2 g6 14. Rfe1 Bg4 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Be4 Rfe8 17.
Re3 Qd6 18. Rae1 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Rad8 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. f4 {Bogdanovski,V (2459)
-Sipila,V (2463) Warsaw 2013 1/2-1/2 (40)}) 7. Ne5 Bxe5 8. dxe5 Nd7 9. Qg4 f5
10. Qg3 Nc5 11. Be2 b6 12. b4 Nd7 13. O-O O-O 14. Nf3 Nd8 15. Bg5 Qf7 16. Nd4
a6 17. f4 c5 18. Nf3 Nc6 19. Rab1 cxb4 20. cxb4 {Sadewasser,A (2216)-Mueller,E
(2206) Germany 2008 1/2-1/2 (32)}) 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. Bg3 (7. Nbd2 O-O $14) 7...
Bxg3 8. hxg3 Qe7 9. Nbd2 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Qxe5 12. Nf3 Qe7 13. Qc2 h6
{Covers g5} 14. O-O-O O-O-O 15. Nd4 Qc5 16. b4 {White threatens to win
material: b4xc5} Qb6 17. a4 {[%cal Yb4b5] White plans b5} a5 18. b5 {White
gets more space} c5 (18... Kb8 $5 $11) 19. bxc6 $14 bxc6 20. Kd2 {White king
safety improved} Kc7 21. Rb1 {White threatens to win material: Rb1xb6} Qa7 (
21... Qc5 $5 $14) 22. c4 $16 Rb8 $2 (22... Qc5 $142 $5 $16) 23. cxd5 $18 Nxd5
$2 (23... c5 $142 $18) 24. Nb5+ Rxb5 25. axb5 Nb4 26. Qc3 c5 (26... f6 27. bxc6
Be6 $18) 27. Qe5+ (27. Qxg7 $142 {keeps an even firmer grip} Re8 28. Qxf7 Qb7
$18) 27... Kc8 (27... Kd8 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} 28. Qxg7 Re8
29. Be2 $18) 28. Rhc1 Nxd3 (28... Kd8 {cannot change destiny} 29. Qxg7 Re8 30.
Qxh6 $18) 29. Kxd3 Bxb5+ (29... Qb6 {is the last straw} 30. Rxc5+ Kd8 $18) 30.
Rxb5 Qd7+ 31. Kc4 (31. Kc4 Qe6+ 32. Qxe6+ fxe6 33. Rxa5 $18) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Sato, Tsubasa"]
[Black "Ito, Katsuhide"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "1677"]
[BlackElo "1328"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "65"]

{B50: Sicilian: 2...d6, Miscellaneous} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 4. h3 Nf6
5. d3 (5. Qe2 Qc7 6. c3 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. exd5 exd5 11.
Bb3 O-O 12. Nc3 Be6 13. a3 Rfe8 14. Qd3 Rad8 15. Nb5 Qc8 16. Bf4 a6 17. Nc7 Bf5
18. Qe2 Rf8 19. Rac1 Bd6 {Kalnins,K (2362)-Setkauskas,V (2242) Tartu 2014 0-1 
(41)}) 5... e6 6. Bg5 $146 (6. Bb3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. c3 Bd7 (8... b5 9. Nbd2
Bb7 10. Re1 a5 11. d4 Nd7 12. a4 b4 13. d5 exd5 14. exd5 Nce5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16.
Ne4 c4 17. Bc2 b3 18. Bb1 f5 19. Nc5 dxc5 20. Rxe5 g6 21. Bh6 Rf7 22. f4 Bf6
23. d6 {Al Ali,H (2356)-Nameer,N (2228) Sulaymaniyah 2012 1/2-1/2 (59)}) (8...
d5 9. e5 Nd7 10. d4 f6 11. exf6 Bxf6 12. Be3 c4 13. Bc2 e5 14. dxe5 Ndxe5 15.
Nh2 Re8 16. Na3 a6 17. Qd2 Ne7 18. Rad1 Bf5 19. g4 Bxc2 20. Nxc2 Nd3 21. g5 Be5
22. f4 Bc7 23. Nd4 {Saptarshi,R (2387)-Kiran,M (2261) Bhiwani 2010 1-0 (48)})
9. Re1 Ne5 10. d4 Nxf3+ 11. Qxf3 e5 12. dxc5 dxc5 13. a4 Bc6 14. Nd2 Qc7 15.
Nc4 Rae8 16. g4 Nd7 17. h4 Kh8 18. Ne3 g6 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Kg7 {Aronian,L
(2562)-Yegiazarian,A (2551) Yerevan 2001 1-0 (34)}) 6... Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Bb3
a6 9. c4 e5 10. Nc3 Be6 11. a3 {Secures b4} Na5 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 {Black has the
pair of bishops} 13. Qc2 b5 14. Nd5 Rb8 15. Ba2 bxc4 16. Bxc4 Nxc4 17. dxc4
Bxd5 18. cxd5 Qb6 {Black threatens to win material: Qb6xb2} 19. Rfb1 Rfc8 20.
Nd2 Rb7 (20... Be7 21. Nc4 Qb5 22. b3 $14) 21. Nc4 $14 {White threatens to win
material: Nc4xb6. A comfortable square for the white knight} Qd8 (21... Qc7 22.
Qa4 $14) 22. Qa4 $16 Rb5 $2 (22... Ra7 $142 $16) 23. Qxa6 $18 Rcb8 24. f3 $4 {
forfeits the advantage} (24. Qxd6 {seems even better} Qxd6 25. Nxd6 Rb3 $18)
24... Bh4 $2 (24... Be7 25. Ra2 $16) 25. Ra2 $4 {weakening the position} (25.
Qxd6 {might be the shorter path} Qxd6 26. Nxd6 Rb3 $18) 25... Qg5 $2 (25... Be7
$142 $16) 26. Qxd6 $18 Rb3 27. Qxe5 Qg6 28. Nd2 (28. Qd6 {makes it even easier
for White} Qg5 29. Rf1 h6 $18) 28... Bf6 29. Qc7 Bd4+ 30. Kh1 R3b7 31. Qf4 Bxb2
$4 {simply worsens the situation.} (31... Qa6 32. Rc1 Bxb2 33. Rxc5 Qa7 $18)
32. Raxb2 $1 {Deflection: b8} Rxb2 (32... Rxb2 33. Qxb8+ {Mate attack
Deflection Pinning}) (32... -- $140 33. Qxb8+ {Mate threat}) 33. Qxb8+ (33.
Qxb8+ Rxb8 34. Rxb8#) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Manabe, Hiroaki"]
[Black "Yoshii, Yukihiko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "1755"]
[BlackElo "1828"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "90"]

{C55: Two Knights: 4 d3, 4 d4 exd4 5 e5 and Max Lange Attack} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4
Nf6 3. d4 Nc6 4. Nf3 {White threatens to win material: Nf3xe5} Be7 $4 $146 {
Black lets it slip away} (4... Nxe4 5. dxe5 Nc5 (5... Qe7 6. O-O h6 7. Qd5 Ng5
8. Nxg5 hxg5 9. Nc3 Nxe5 10. Bd2 c6 11. Qd4 Qd6 12. Qxd6 Bxd6 13. Rae1 Kd8 14.
Bb3 f6 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Nxg5 fxg5 17. Rxe5 Bd6 18. Bxg5+ Kc7 19. Re4 Bxh2+ 20.
Kh1 {MacLeod,S (2200)-Vassilaropoulos,N (2200) Australia 1973 0-1}) 6. Bf4 (6.
Nc3 Ne6 7. Ne4 Be7 8. Bd2 f6 9. exf6 Bxf6 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Bc3 Qg6 12. Qe2
O-O 13. O-O-O Re8 14. Rd5 Kf8 15. Qd2 Qe4 16. b3 Re7 17. Re1 Qg4 18. Ng5 Nxg5
19. Rxe7 Ne4 20. Rxe4 Qxe4 {Regan,K (2375)-Lein,A (2525) Lone Pine 1977 1-0}) (
6. O-O Ne6 (6... Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Be3 Ne6 9. Nd5 Bc5 10. Qe2 Bxe3 11. Qxe3 a6
12. Rad1 Ne7 13. Qe4 Kh8 14. Ne3 Rb8 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Ng5 Nf5 17. Nxe6 Nd6 18.
Rxd6 {1-0 (18) Bademian Orchanian,J (2235)-Diano,D (2200) Piriapolis 1977}) 7.
Nc3 Be7 8. Ne4 O-O 9. c3 Nc5 10. Nxc5 Bxc5 11. Re1 Be7 12. Bf4 Kh8 13. Qd2 Na5
14. Bd3 d5 15. exd6 Bxd6 16. Rad1 Bg4 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Re3 Rad8 19. b3 Nc6 20.
Qc2 Qf6 {Viela,M (2219)-Garcia Rodriguez,V (2222) Torres Vedras 2011 1/2-1/2 
(66)}) 6... Ne6 7. Bg3 Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Nd5 Na5 10. Bd3 f5 11. Qd2 Nc6 12.
O-O-O a6 13. h4 b5 14. h5 Bb7 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Nh4 f4 17. Ng6 hxg6 18. hxg6
Nxe5 19. Rh4 {Teichmann,R-Marshall,F London 1902 1/2-1/2 (31)}) (4... exd4 5.
e5 d5 6. Bb5 $11) 5. Nc3 (5. dxe5 $142 $5 Ng4 6. Qd5 $16) 5... d6 6. Be3 {
White has a very active position} O-O 7. h4 {Black has a cramped position} (7.
d5 Na5 8. Be2 c5 $14) 7... Bg4 (7... exd4 8. Bxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 $15) 8. Qd2 a6 {
White has a very active position} 9. Ng5 (9. Be2 $5 $11) 9... h6 {Black
threatens to win material: h6xg5} 10. f3 {White threatens to win material:
f3xg4} Bh5 (10... exd4 11. Bxd4 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 hxg5 13. hxg5 $17) 11. O-O-O b5 (
11... exd4 12. Bxd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 $15) 12. Be2 (12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Be2 b4 $11)
12... exd4 13. Bxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 c5 15. Qf2 b4 {Black threatens to win
material: b4xc3} 16. Na4 Qc7 (16... Qe8 17. b3 $11) 17. g4 {White threatens to
win material: g4xh5} Bg6 18. h5 $4 {letting the wind out of his own sails} (18.
Nh3 Rae8 $14) 18... Bh7 $4 {allows the opponent back into the game} (18... Nxg4
$142 {Black had this great chance} 19. Qg3 Bxg5+ 20. Kb1 Bxe4 21. fxe4 Nf6 $19)
19. Nxh7 $11 Nxh7 {Opposite coloured bishops appeared} 20. Bc4 Ng5 21. Rd5 Bf6
22. Rhd1 Rfd8 (22... Be5 23. Kb1 $11) 23. Rf5 Ne6 24. Qg3 {[%cal Rd1d6,Rg3d6,
Gc7d6,Gd8d6] Attacks the backward pawn on d6} (24. f4 $5 $14) 24... Nd4 $11 {
Black threatens to win material: Nd4xf5} 25. Rxc5 Qe7 (25... Qa7 26. Rd5 Rac8
27. R5xd4 Bxd4 28. b3 $11) 26. Rd5 $11 {White threatens to win material: Rd5xd4
} Rac8 27. R5xd4 Bxd4 28. Rxd4 Qc7 $4 (28... Qa7 $142 {saving the game} 29.
Bxf7+ Qxf7 $11) 29. Bb3 $18 a5 (29... Qa7 {cannot change what is in store for
White} 30. Rxb4 Rb8 31. Rxb8 Rxb8 32. Nc3 $18) 30. Rc4 (30. g5 $142 {and White
has triumphed} d5 31. Qxc7 Rxc7 32. gxh6 gxh6 $18) 30... Qa7 31. Rxc8 Qe3+ 32.
Kb1 Rxc8 33. a3 bxa3 34. bxa3 Qd4 (34... Kh8 35. Nb2 Qd2 36. Ka2 $18) 35. Qf4
Qd1+ (35... Rc7 36. Ka2 $18) 36. Ka2 Rc7 (36... Rxc2+ {cannot undo what has
already been done} 37. Bxc2 Qxc2+ 38. Nb2 $18) 37. Nb2 (37. Nc3 $142 $1 {
makes it even easier for White} Qf1 38. e5 Qa6 39. exd6 Rd7 $18) 37... Qd4 38.
Qf5 (38. g5 {and White can already relax} hxg5 39. Qxg5 Ra7 $18) 38... Qc3 (
38... Qc5 39. Qxc5 Rxc5 40. Nd3 $18) 39. Qb5 Rc8 (39... Kh7 {does not help much
} 40. Qd3 $18) 40. Qd7 (40. Nc4 {and White can already relax} Qd4 41. Nxa5 Qc5
42. Qxc5 dxc5 $18) 40... Rf8 (40... Qc7 {a fruitless try to alter the course
of the game} 41. Bxf7+ Kf8 42. Qxc7 Rxc7 43. Bc4 $18) 41. Nd3 Qd4 (41... Qf6 {
doesn't improve anything} 42. f4 Rd8 43. Qa7 $18) 42. Qc7 a4 43. Bd5 Qe3 (43...
Kh8 {is not much help} 44. f4 $18) 44. Qxd6 Qxf3 45. Ne5 Qf2 (45... Qf2 46. Qc7
Kh7 47. Bxf7 Rxf7 48. Nxf7 Qf1 $18) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "4.6"]
[White "Koyahata, Taku"]
[Black "Watanabe, Katsumi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E00"]
[WhiteElo "1349"]
[BlackElo "1732"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "94"]

{E00: Catalan Bogo-Indian (3 g3 Bb4+)} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. a3 Be7
5. Nf3 O-O 6. c5 $146 {This push gains space} (6. Bf4 c6 (6... b6 7. e3 Bb7 8.
cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bg3 c5 10. Bd3 cxd4 11. exd4 Nc6 12. O-O Rc8 13. Bc2 g6 14. Qd3
Nxc3 15. bxc3 Bf6 16. h4 Ne7 17. Bf4 Nd5 18. Bd2 Qc7 19. Bb3 Rfd8 20. Rac1 Nf4
21. Qe3 {Obermayr,H (2170)-Duer,W (2271) Austria 2015 1/2-1/2 (37)}) 7. e3 Nbd7
8. h3 b6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. O-O Re8 12. b4 Nf8 13. Qc2 h6 14. Rfe1
Ne6 15. Bh2 Rc8 16. Ne5 Bd6 17. Qb1 Re7 18. Ra2 c5 19. bxc5 bxc5 20. Nb5 Bb8 {
Rasmussen,A (2532)-Zhou,Q (2182) Reykjavik 2015 1-0 (74)}) (6. Bg5 b6 (6... h6
7. Bh4 Nbd7 8. e3 c6 9. Qc2 Re8 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Bd3 Ne4 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13.
Bxe4 dxe4 14. Nd2 f5 15. O-O Nf6 16. Nc4 Be6 17. Ne5 c5 18. Ng6 Qf7 19. Ne5 Qe7
20. Ng6 Qd6 21. Nf4 {Tartakower,S-Unzicker,W Birmingham 1951 1/2-1/2 (43)}) 7.
Bxf6 Bxf6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. g3 c5 10. Bg2 Nc6 11. dxc5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 bxc5 13.
O-O Be6 14. Ne1 Rc8 15. Nd3 Qa5 16. Qc1 Rfd8 17. Rd1 Rd6 18. Nf4 Rcd8 19. Rb1
Ne7 20. c4 h6 {Dao,T (2580)-Harikrishna,P (2200) Calicut 1998 1-0 (75)}) (6.
Bf4 Nbd7 $11) 6... b6 7. b4 a5 8. Bb2 c6 {Consolidates b5} 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. Ne5
(10. e3 Ne4 $11) 10... Bb7 (10... Nxe5 11. dxe5 Nd7 12. e3 $17) 11. e3 (11.
Nxd7 Nxd7 12. e3 axb4 13. axb4 e5 $11) 11... b5 {Black threatens to win
material: b5xa4} (11... Nxe5 $5 12. dxe5 Nd7 $17) 12. Nc3 Qc7 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14.
Be2 a4 {Black wins space} (14... e5 15. Na2 $11) 15. O-O Bf6 16. f4 g6 {
Controls h5} 17. Kh1 Bg7 18. e4 Rae8 (18... dxe4 19. Nxe4 Nf6 20. Nxf6+ Bxf6
21. Qd2 $11) 19. e5 $14 {White gains space} f6 20. Qc2 f5 21. g4 (21. Rad1 Ra8
$16) 21... Rf7 22. gxf5 Rxf5 23. Bg4 {White threatens to win material: Bg4xf5}
Rf7 24. Ne2 Bc8 25. Rf3 Nb8 {White has an active position} (25... Qd8 26. Rg1
$14) 26. Rg1 (26. h4 Qe7 27. Rh3 Bh6 $16) 26... Qe7 27. Rh3 Na6 {Black has a
cramped position} 28. Ng3 Nc7 (28... Rff8 $142 $14) 29. f5 $4 {throws away a
nice position} (29. Bh5 $142 Rf5 30. Nxf5 exf5 31. Bd1 $16) 29... exf5 $19 30.
Nxf5 (30. Bf3 {does not solve anything} f4 31. Rxh7 Kxh7 $19) 30... Bxf5 31.
Bxf5 Rxf5 32. Qg2 (32. Bc1 {does not win a prize} Ne6 33. Be3 Ref8 $19) 32...
Bh8 (32... Ref8 $142 $5 {seems even better} 33. Bc1 Rf2 34. Qg4 $19) 33. Bc1
Ref8 (33... Ne6 {might be the shorter path} 34. Qg4 Ref8 35. Be3 $19) 34. Bh6
Bg7 35. Qg4 (35. Be3 $19 {is one last hope}) 35... Bxh6 36. Rxh6 Qg7 (36... Ne6
$5 {keeps an even firmer grip} 37. Rh3 $19) 37. Rh3 Qf7 38. Qh4 (38. Rhg3 $19 {
the last chance for counterplay}) 38... Rf1 39. Qg3 Ne6 (39... Qf5 40. Rh4
Rxg1+ 41. Qxg1 Qf3+ 42. Qg2 Qd1+ 43. Qg1 Rf1 44. Rg4 Qf3+ 45. Rg2 Ne6 46. h4
Nf4 47. Qxf1 Qxf1+ 48. Kh2 Qxg2#) 40. Rh4 Rxg1+ 41. Qxg1 Qf3+ 42. Qg2 Qd1+ 43.
Qg1 Rf1 44. Rg4 (44. h3 {hardly improves anything} Rxg1+ 45. Kh2 Qe1 46. Rg4
Qf2+ 47. Rg2 Qxg2#) 44... Qf3+ (44... Rxg1+ 45. Rxg1 Qf3+ 46. Rg2 Nf4 47. h4
Qxg2#) 45. Rg2 Rxg1+ 46. Kxg1 Nf4 47. Ra2 (47. Rxg6+ {does not save the day}
hxg6 48. h4 Qg2#) 47... Ne2+ (47... Ne2+ 48. Rxe2 Qxe2 49. e6 Kf8 50. e7+ Kxe7
51. h3 Kf6 52. h4 Kf5 53. Kh1 Ke4 54. Kg1 Kf3 55. Kh1 Qg2#) (47... Nh3#) 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "4.7"]
[White "Sato, Yasuji"]
[Black "Sato, Takeru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B04"]
[WhiteElo "1555"]
[BlackElo "1230"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "72"]

{B04: Alekhine's Defence: 4 Nf3} 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4
Nb6 6. Bxf7+ (6. Bb5 Bd7 7. a4 e6 8. c3 dxe5 9. dxe5 Na5 10. Nbd2 a6 11. Bd3 c5
12. b3 c4 13. bxc4 Qc7 14. O-O h6 15. c5 Bxc5 16. Ne4 Be7 17. Re1 Nbc4 18. Bf4
Bc6 19. Qe2 Bd5 20. Rab1 Rc8 {Najer,E (2605)-Nguyen,N (2528) Moscow 2007 1-0 
(67)}) 6... Kxf7 7. Ng5+ Kg8 8. e6 h6 $4 $146 {ruins a very nice position} (
8... Qe8 9. d5 Nd8 10. Qd3 c6 11. c4 Qg6 12. Qb3 h6 13. Qd1 {0-1 (13)
Morchiashvili,B (2332)-Chkhaidze,N (2215) Batumi 2015}) (8... Qe8 $5 9. Nc3 $19
) 9. Nf7 $4 {gives the opponent new chances} (9. Qh5 $142 Rh7 10. Nf7 $14) 9...
Qe8 $17 10. Qh5 $4 {the final mistake, not that it matters anymore} (10. d5
$142 Nb4 11. c4 Nxc4 12. a3 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 Bxe6 14. Qxe6 Qxf7 15. Qh3 $17) 10...
Bxe6 $19 11. Nxh6+ gxh6 12. Qh4 (12. Qxe8 {hardly improves anything} Rxe8 13.
Na3 Nxd4 $19) 12... Qg6 13. Nc3 (13. Qg3 {doesn't change the outcome of the
game} Qxg3 14. hxg3 Nxd4 $19) 13... Nd5 (13... Qxg2 $142 {might be the shorter
path} 14. Qe4 Qxe4+ 15. Nxe4 Nxd4 16. Kd2 $19) 14. Ne4 (14. Qe4 {the only
chance to get some counterplay} Qxe4+ 15. Nxe4 $19) 14... Nxd4 15. O-O Nf3+ 16.
Kh1 Nxh4 17. Ng3 Bg7 18. c3 Rf8 19. f3 Be5 (19... Rxf3 20. Rxf3 Qc2 21. Rf8+
Kxf8 22. Bd2 Qxd2 23. Rg1 Bh3 24. gxh3 Nf3 25. Nf1 Qf2 26. Rg3 Qxf1+ 27. Rg1
Qxg1#) 20. Rf2 Bxg3 21. hxg3 (21. Re2 {cannot change destiny} Qd3 22. Bg5 Qxe2
23. Bxh4 Nf4 24. Rg1 Bh3 25. hxg3 Bxg2+ 26. Kh2 Bxf3+ 27. Rg2 Qxg2#) 21... Qxg3
22. Kg1 (22. Bd2 {cannot change what is in store for White} Qxf2 23. Rg1 Rf5
24. Be3 Nxe3 25. g4 Nxf3 26. gxf5+ Qxg1#) 22... Bh3 (22... Nxf3+ 23. Kf1 Nd2+
24. Kg1 Rxf2 25. Bxd2 Qxg2#) 23. Kf1 (23. Bd2 {is not much help} Nxf3+ 24. Kf1
Nxd2+ 25. Ke1 Qxf2+ 26. Kd1 Ne3+ 27. Kc1 Qe1#) 23... Nxg2 (23... Rxf3 24. Rxf3
Qxf3+ 25. Ke1 Nxg2+ 26. Kd2 Bf5 27. a4 Qd3#) 24. Ke2 Ngf4+ (24... Rxf3 25. Rxf3
Bg4 26. Kd3 Qxf3+ 27. Kc4 Qe4+ 28. Kb3 Bd1+ 29. Ka3 Qa4#) 25. Bxf4 Nxf4+ 26.
Ke3 Nd5+ (26... Rf5 27. Rd2 Re5+ 28. Kd4 b5 29. c4 Qxf3 30. Rg1+ Kf8 31. Rg8+
Rxg8 32. cxb5 Re4#) 27. Ke2 Bg4 (27... Rxf3 28. Rxf3 Qg2+ 29. Rf2 Bg4+ 30. Kd3
Qxf2 31. Kc4 Qxb2 32. Kxd5 Qe2 33. Kd4 e5+ 34. Kd5 Qd3#) 28. Raf1 Bh3 {Black
threatens to win material: Bh3xf1} 29. Re1 $4 {simply marches past the door to
victory} (29. Ra1 Rf6 30. Raf1 Re6+ 31. Kd1 Bxf1 32. Rxf1 Qg2 33. Re1 Ne3+ 34.
Rxe3 Rxe3 35. b4 Rxf3 36. a3 Rf1#) 29... Bg2 (29... Nf4+ 30. Ke3 Rf5 31. Ree2
Nxe2 32. Rf1 Bxf1 33. Kd2 Qf2 34. Kd1 Nxc3+ 35. bxc3 Re5 36. a3 Re1#) 30. Rg1 (
30. Kd2 {doesn't do any good} Rxf3 31. Rxg2 Qxg2+ 32. Re2 Qf1 33. a4 Qb1 34.
Rg2+ Kf8 35. b4 Qb2+ 36. Ke1 Qxg2 37. c4 Rf1#) 30... Bxf3+ 31. Rxf3 (31. Kd2 {
doesn't get the cat off the tree} Qxg1 32. Rxf3 Rxf3 33. Kc2 Qf1 34. Kb3 Qb5+
35. Kc2 Rf2+ 36. Kc1 Qf1#) 31... Qxg1 32. Rxf8+ (32. a4 {does not improve
anything} Rxf3 33. Kxf3 Qe3+ 34. Kg2 Nf4+ 35. Kh2 Qh3+ 36. Kg1 Qg2#) 32... Kxf8
33. c4 (33. Kd2 {is no salvation} Qb1 34. c4 Rg8 35. Ke2 Qxb2+ 36. Kd3 Rg3+ 37.
Ke4 Qe5#) 33... Qe3+ 34. Kd1 Qd3+ (34... Rg8 35. cxd5 Rg1+ 36. Kc2 Rc1#) 35.
Kc1 (35. Ke1 {doesn't change anything anymore} Nf4 36. Kf2 Rg8 37. a3 Qe2#)
35... Nb4 36. b3 (36. a3 {doesn't get the bull off the ice} Na2#) 36... Qc2#
0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "4.8"]
[White "Kudo, Sonosuke"]
[Black "Kimura, Yusei"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "952"]
[BlackElo "1009"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "70"]

{C50: Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5
4. O-O d6 5. d3 Bg4 6. h3 Bh5 7. g4 $146 {White threatens to win material:
g4xh5} (7. c3 Nge7 8. b4 Bb6 9. a4 a6 10. a5 Ba7 11. Be3 O-O 12. Bxa7 Rxa7 13.
Re1 Ra8 14. Nbd2 Kh8 15. g4 Bg6 16. Nf1 d5 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Rxe5
Nxc3 20. Qf3 b5 21. axb6 cxb6 {Saric,I (2661)-Bosiocic,M (2548) Porec 2014 1/
2-1/2 (39)}) 7... Bg6 8. Ng5 (8. c3 Qd7 $11) 8... Qe7 (8... h5 $142 $15) 9.
Nxf7 $4 {White has let it slip away} (9. Nc3 $142 $11 {was possible}) 9... Bxf7
$19 10. Bxf7+ Qxf7 11. Be3 Bd4 (11... h5 {seems even better} 12. g5 $19) 12.
Bxd4 $6 {doesn't do very much to defend the position} (12. Nd2 $19) 12... Nxd4
13. Qd2 (13. Nd2 $19 {there is nothing better in the position}) 13... Nf3+ 14.
Kg2 Nxd2 15. Nxd2 O-O-O 16. Nf3 h6 (16... h5 {and Black can already relax} 17.
g5 Rf8 18. Ng1 $19) 17. d4 Rf8 18. Nd2 exd4 (18... Qf4 19. Rad1 h5 20. f3 exd4
21. g5 Qxg5+ 22. Kh1 Qg3 23. f4 Qxh3+ 24. Kg1 Rh6 25. f5 Rff6 26. Rf3 Rhg6+ 27.
fxg6 Rxg6+ 28. Kf2 Rg2+ 29. Ke1 Qh4+ 30. Rg3 Qxg3+ 31. Kf1 Qf2#) 19. b3 d5 20.
exd5 Qxd5+ 21. f3 Rf6 (21... h5 22. Rf2 hxg4 23. Rh1 Rxh3 24. Rxh3 gxh3+ 25.
Kf1 Nf6 26. Ke2 Qc5 27. Nc4 d3+ 28. Kxd3 Qxf2 29. Ne3 Re8 30. Kc3 Qxe3+ 31. Kb2
Nd5 32. Ka3 Qc3 33. f4 Re6 34. Ka4 Qb4#) 22. Rae1 Re6 23. Rxe6 Qxe6 24. Ne4 Nf6
25. Nc5 Qc6 26. b4 Nd7 (26... Nd5 $142 {keeps an even firmer grip} 27. Rf2 Nxb4
28. Ne4 $19) 27. Nxd7 Qxd7 (27... Qxc2+ 28. Rf2 d3 29. Ne5 d2 30. g5 Qc3 31.
Rxd2 Qxd2+ 32. Kg3 Qe1+ 33. Kg4 Qxe5 34. f4 Qe3 35. a4 h5+ 36. Kf5 Qe8 37. g6
Qe7 38. a5 Rf8#) 28. Rc1 Qa4 (28... Re8 29. Rf1 Re2+ 30. Rf2 Rxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Qa4
32. b5 Qxc2+ 33. Kg3 d3 34. b6 cxb6 35. h4 d2 36. a3 d1=Q 37. h5 Qd6+ 38. f4
Qxa3+ 39. Kh4 Qh2#) 29. c3 d3 30. Re1 (30. Rf1 {doesn't get the cat off the
tree} d2 31. Kg3 d1=Q 32. Rxd1 Qxd1 33. h4 Rf8 34. f4 Qd3+ 35. Kg2 Re8 36. h5
Re2+ 37. Kg1 Qb1#) 30... Qxa2+ (30... d2 31. Rf1 d1=Q 32. Rxd1 Qxd1 33. g5 Rf8
34. f4 Rxf4 35. Kg3 Qf3+ 36. Kh2 Qe2+ 37. Kg1 Rf1#) 31. Kg1 (31. Kg3 {doesn't
change anything anymore} d2 32. Rd1 Re8 33. h4 Qd5 34. Rf1 d1=Q 35. Rxd1 Qxd1
36. g5 Qd6+ 37. Kh3 h5 38. b5 Re2 39. c4 Qh2#) 31... d2 32. Rf1 (32. Rd1 {
doesn't get the bull off the ice} Re8 33. Kg2 Qc2 34. h4 Qxd1 35. Kg3 Re3 36.
h5 Qxf3+ 37. Kh2 Qxg4 38. Kh1 Rh3#) 32... Re8 33. Kf2 (33. g5 {does not win a
prize} Re2 34. gxh6 Qa6 35. Kh1 Qd6 36. f4 Qc6+ 37. Kg1 Qg2#) 33... d1=Q+ 34.
Kg1 (34. Kg3 {doesn't do any good} Qxf1 35. Kf4 g5+ 36. Kf5 Qf7#) 34... Re1 35.
Rxe1 Qxe1# 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Numata, Takeshi"]
[Black "Drakakis, Athanasios"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "1656"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "106"]

{D53: Queen's Gambit Declined: 4 Bg5 Be7: Early deviations} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6
3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 h6 6. Bh4 c6 $146 (6... Ne4 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Nbd2 (
8. Bd3 c5 (8... Qb4+ 9. Nbd2 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 11. Kxd2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nd7 13.
Rac1 Ke7 14. Bb3 c6 15. e4 Rd8 16. Ke3 Nf6 17. Ne5 Bd7 18. h4 Be8 19. g4 Nd7
20. Nd3 Rac8 21. g5 hxg5 22. hxg5 g6 23. Rh7 {Kortschnoj,V (2549)-Faibisovich,
V (2377) Rogaska Slatina 2012 1-0 (36)}) 9. O-O Nc6 10. Ne5 Nf6 11. cxd5 Nxe5
12. dxe5 Nxd5 13. Nd2 O-O 14. Ne4 Qc7 15. Nd6 f6 16. Qg4 fxe5 17. Nxc8 Qxc8 18.
Qe4 Rf5 19. Bc4 Kh8 20. Bxd5 exd5 21. Qxd5 Qc7 22. Rfd1 Rc8 {Ivanchuk,V (2764)
-Fridman,D (2655) Caleta 2011 1-0 (40)}) 8... Nxd2 9. Qxd2 dxc4 (9... Nd7 10.
Rc1 c6 11. Bd3 O-O 12. cxd5 exd5 13. O-O Re8 14. b4 Nf6 15. b5 Ne4 16. Qc2 Bd7
17. bxc6 Bxc6 18. Ne5 Rac8 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Qb3 Red8 21. Nxc6 Rxc6 22. Rxc6
bxc6 23. Rc1 Rd6 24. Qb4 {Villavicencio Martinez,A (2328)-Tatai,S (2369)
Tenerife 2013 0-1 (39)}) 10. Bxc4 Nd7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rac1 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14.
Nxe5 Qxe5 15. Rfd1 c6 16. Qc3 Qe7 17. Rd4 Bf5 18. Rcd1 Rad8 {1/2-1/2 (18)
Kaliberda,V (2337)-Zacurdajev,M (2384) Peterhof 2007}) 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bd3 dxc4
9. Bxc4 Re8 10. O-O Nd5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Rc1 Nxc3 13. Rxc3 Nd7 14. Qc2 e5 15.
dxe5 (15. d5 Nb6 16. dxc6 bxc6 $14) 15... Nxe5 $11 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 17. Qb3 Re7
18. Rd1 Be6 19. Bxe6 Rxe6 20. Qxb7 Rb8 {Black threatens to win material: Rb8xb7
} 21. Qxa7 Rxb2 {White has a new passed pawn: a2. Black has a new passed pawn:
c6.} 22. Qa3 {White threatens to win material: Qa3xb2} (22. Rb3 $142 $14) 22...
Rb5 $4 {Black is ruining his position} (22... Qb5 $142 $5 {is the best option
Black has} 23. Qa8+ Kh7 $11) 23. Qc1 (23. Rxc6 Rxc6 24. Qa8+ Kh7 25. Qxc6 Qf5
$18) 23... Qe4 (23... Rd5 24. Rxd5 cxd5 25. Rc5 $16) 24. Qc2 (24. Rc4 Qg6 $16)
24... Qxc2 25. Rxc2 Rd6 26. Rdc1 Ra5 27. g3 Ra6 28. Ra1 f6 29. a4 Ra5 30. Rc4
c5 31. Rb1 Rda6 32. Rb7 Rxa4 33. Rxc5 Ra7 34. Rcc7 Rxb7 35. Rxb7 Kh7 36. h4 h5
37. Kg2 Kg6 38. Kf3 Ra2 39. Rb5 Rc2 40. e4 Rc3+ 41. Kf4 Rc4 42. Rd5 Ra4 43. f3
Rb4 44. Rc5 Ra4 45. Rd5 {Twofold repetition} Rb4 46. g4 hxg4 47. Kxg4 Rb1 48.
Rd2 Rg1+ 49. Kh3 Rh1+ 50. Rh2 Ra1 51. Kg3 Kh5 52. Rg2 g6 53. Kf4 (53. Rc2 $142
$16) 53... Ra4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Yoshii, Yukihiko"]
[Black "Yamada, Akihiro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "1828"]
[BlackElo "1970"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "157"]

{D13: Slav Defence: Exchange variation without ...Bf5} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c6 3.
d4 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nf3 e6 6. a3 (6. Bd2 Nc6 7. Rc1 a6 8. Bf4 Nh5 9. Be5 f6
10. Bg3 e5 11. e3 Nxg3 12. hxg3 e4 13. Nh4 Ne7 14. g4 Qb6 15. Rc2 Be6 16. Nf5
g6 17. Ng3 Nc6 18. f4 Bd6 19. Kf2 O-O 20. a3 Rac8 {Melkumyan,H (2585)-Volkov,S
(2629) St Petersburg 2009 1-0 (57)}) 6... a6 $146 {Secures b5} (6... Be7 7. Bf4
(7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 b6 9. e3 Bb7 10. Bd3 Nbd7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Nd2 e5
14. Bg3 e4 15. Be2 a6 16. b4 a5 17. Qb3 Ra8 18. Na4 Ne8 19. Bb5 Ba6 20. Bxa6
Rxa6 21. b5 Ra8 {Palm,N (2275)-Rewitz,P (2296) Denmark 2011 1-0 (36)}) 7... a6
(7... O-O 8. e3 Nh5 9. Be5 Nc6 10. Bd3 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Nf6 12. Rc1 Bd7 13. O-O
Qb6 14. b4 Rfc8 15. Nxd7 Nxd7 16. Na4 Qd8 17. Qb3 Rxc1 18. Rxc1 Rc8 19. Rc3 g6
20. Qc2 Rxc3 21. Qxc3 Bd6 22. g3 {Bulavin,A (2237)-Pushin,V (2375) Kazan 2012
1/2-1/2 (40)}) 8. e3 b5 9. Be2 Nc6 10. O-O Bb7 11. Ne5 O-O 12. Nd3 Na5 13. b4
Nc4 14. a4 Bc6 15. Qc2 Qb6 16. Rfb1 Rfe8 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4 Rec8 19. Nc5 Qd8
20. Rd1 Rcb8 21. Bg3 {Hanel,R (2326)-Weber,G (2383) Jenbach 2001 1/2-1/2}) (
6... Nc6 7. Bf4 Ne4 8. e3 Qa5 9. Qb3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 a6 11. Bd3 b5 12. O-O Qb6
13. a4 Na5 14. Qb2 Nc4 15. Bxc4 dxc4 16. Rfb1 b4 17. cxb4 Bb7 18. b5 axb5 19.
Qxb5+ Qxb5 20. axb5 Rc8 21. Rc1 {Bass,L (2419)-Herrera,I (2444) Madrid 2013 1-0
}) 7. Bg5 Nbd7 8. e3 h6 {Black threatens to win material: h6xg5} 9. Bh4 Qa5 10.
b4 {White threatens to win material: b4xa5} Qb6 11. Rc1 Qa7 (11... Bd6 12. Bd3
$14) 12. Bd3 (12. Qa4 $5 $16) 12... Bd6 $14 13. O-O b5 14. Bg3 Bxg3 15. hxg3
Bb7 16. Nd2 (16. a4 bxa4 17. Nxa4 O-O $16) 16... O-O 17. Qe2 (17. a4 bxa4 18.
Nxa4 Qb8 $14) 17... Rfc8 18. Nb3 Rab8 19. g4 Qb6 (19... e5 20. Bf5 Re8 21. g5
hxg5 22. Bxd7 Nxd7 23. Qh5 $11) 20. f3 {Prevents intrusion on e4} (20. f4 Ne4
21. Bxe4 dxe4 $16) 20... Qd8 21. Qf2 Rc7 22. Rc2 e5 23. Nc5 Nxc5 24. bxc5 {
White has a new protected passed pawn: c5} e4 {Black threatens to win material:
e4xd3} 25. Be2 Bc8 {[%cal Yd7c6,Ye6d7,Yc8e6,Yb7c8] Manoeuvre Bb7-c8-e6-d7-c6} (
25... exf3 26. gxf3 Bc6 27. Bd3 $11) 26. Rb1 (26. Qg3 exf3 27. Bxf3 Be6 $14)
26... Re7 (26... exf3 27. gxf3 Re7 28. Bd3 $11) 27. Nd1 (27. Qg3 Bd7 $16) 27...
Be6 28. Qg3 Ra8 29. Rb3 (29. f4 Qc7 $14) 29... Qc7 (29... Qc8 30. g5 hxg5 31.
Qxg5 $14) 30. f4 {[%cal Yg4g5] White prepares g5} (30. Qxc7 $5 Rxc7 31. Kf2 $16
) 30... Bd7 $14 31. Rbc3 (31. Nc3 Re6 $14) 31... Bc6 {The black bishop is safe
in front of c5} 32. g5 hxg5 33. Qxg5 {Black king safety dropped.} Nh7 34. Qh4
f5 35. Nf2 Re6 36. Nh3 (36. g4 Rf8 $11) 36... Rh6 37. Qg3 Kh8 38. Kf2 Rf8 39.
Rc1 Rff6 40. Rh1 Rfg6 41. Qh2 Nf6 42. Qg1 Kg8 (42... Ng4+ 43. Bxg4 fxg4 $15)
43. Ng5 {The white knight is well posted.} (43. Qe1 Rh8 $11) 43... Be8 (43...
Ng4+ $5 44. Bxg4 fxg4 $17) 44. Rc1 (44. Qa1 Rxh1 45. Qxh1 Rh6 $11) 44... Rxh1 (
44... Qa5 45. Qe1 Qxa3 46. Rg1 $11) 45. Qxh1 $11 Rh6 {Black threatens to win
material: Rh6xh1} 46. Qg1 Bh5 47. g3 $4 {there were better ways to keep up the
pressure} (47. Qe1 Bxe2 48. Kxe2 Rh2 $11) 47... Nh7 (47... Bxe2 $142 {ends the
debate} 48. Kxe2 Ng4 $19) 48. Nxh7 $11 Kxh7 (48... Bxe2 $5 {is an interesting
alternative} 49. Kxe2 Rxh7 $11) 49. Bxh5 $16 Rxh5 50. g4 fxg4 51. Qxg4 {
White has a mate threat} Rh6 (51... g6 $142 $5 $14 {looks like a viable
alternative}) 52. Rg1 $16 Qf7 53. Rg2 $4 {throwing away the advantage} (53. Rg3
$142 {White clearly has the better chances} a5 54. Rh3 $16) 53... a5 $11 54.
Qg3 b4 55. axb4 axb4 {Black has a new passed pawn: b4.} 56. Ke2 (56. Rh2 b3 57.
Ke1 Qa7 58. Rxh6+ gxh6 $11) 56... Qd7 (56... Qa7 57. Rg1 $17) 57. f5 (57. Qg4
Qa7 58. Qf5+ g6 59. Qxd5 Qa6+ 60. Kf2 Rh1 61. Qxe4 Qf1+ 62. Kg3 Qe1+ 63. Rf2
Rg1+ 64. Kf3 Qd1+ 65. Re2 Rf1+ 66. Kg3 Qxe2 67. Qe7+ Kh8 68. Qe8+ Kg7 69. Qe7+
Kh8 70. Qe8+ Kg7 71. Qe5+ Kf7 72. Qc7+ Ke6 73. Qc6+ Ke7 74. Qb7+ Kd8 75. Qb6+
Kd7 76. Qd6+ Kc8 77. Qc6+ Kd8 78. Qb6+ Ke7 79. Qd6+ Ke8 80. Qxg6+ Ke7 81. Qd6+
Kf7 82. Qc7+ Ke6 83. Qd6+ Kf7 84. Qd7+ Kf6 85. Qd8+ Kf7 86. Qd5+ Ke7 87. Qd6+
Kf7 $11) 57... Ra6 (57... Qa7 58. Kf2 b3 $19) 58. Rh2+ Kg8 {Black has a mate
threat} 59. Qb8+ {White forks: b4} Kf7 60. Rh8 Ra2+ 61. Ke1 Ra1+ 62. Kd2 {
White has a mate threat} Qe7 $4 {overlooking an easy win} (62... Ra2+ $142 {
had to be tried to avoid defeat} 63. Ke1 Ra1+ 64. Kd2 Ra2+ 65. Kc1 Ra1+ 66. Kd2
$11) 63. c6 (63. Qg8+ Kf6 64. Rh6+ Kg5 65. Rg6+ Kxf5 66. Qh7 Ra2+ 67. Kd1 Qg5
68. Ra6+ Kg4 69. Rxa2 Qh6 70. Qxh6 gxh6 71. c6 Kf3 72. Re2 b3 73. c7 b2 74.
Rxb2 Kxe3 75. c8=Q h5 76. Rb3+ Kf4 77. Qc7+ Kg5 78. Rg3+ Kf6 79. Rg7 h4 80.
Qf7#) 63... Ra2+ (63... b3 {is no salvation} 64. Qxb3 Ra5 65. Qb8 Ra2+ 66. Kd1
Ra1+ 67. Kc2 Ra2+ 68. Kb1 $18) 64. Kc1 Ra7 (64... b3 {a last effort to resist
the inevitable} 65. Qxb3 Qa3+ 66. Qxa3 Rxa3 $18) 65. Qg8+ Kf6 66. Qh7 Qf7 67.
Qh4+ g5 68. Rh6+ Kxf5 (68... Ke7 {is not the saving move} 69. Qxg5+ Ke8 70.
Rh8+ Qf8 71. Qg6+ Ke7 72. Qe6+ Kd8 73. Qd6+ Kc8 74. Rxf8#) 69. Qh3+ (69. Qf2+
Kg4 70. Qg2+ Kf5 71. Qf1+ Kg4 72. Qh3#) 69... g4 $18 70. Rh5+ Kf6 (70... Ke6 {
praying for a miracle} 71. Qxg4+ Kd6 72. Rh6+ Kc7 73. Qg3+ Kb6 74. Qb8+ Ka5 $18
) 71. Qxg4 Ra1+ 72. Kb2 Rf1 (72... Qg6 {does not solve anything} 73. Qf4+ Kg7
74. Qe5+ Kf7 75. Rf5+ Kg8 76. Rg5 Qxg5 77. Qxg5+ Kf7 78. Kxa1 Ke6 79. Qg6+ Ke7
80. Qg7+ Ke6 81. c7 b3 82. c8=Q+ Kd6 83. Qa6#) 73. Rh6+ (73. Qg5+ Ke6 74. Qe5#)
73... Ke7 74. Qd7+ Kf8 75. Qd8+ Qe8 76. Qxe8+ (76. Rh8+ Kg7 77. Qxe8 Rf2+ 78.
Kb3 Rb2+ 79. Kxb2 Kf6 80. Rh6+ Kg7 81. Rg6+ Kh7 82. Qg8#) 76... Kxe8 77. Rh8+
Ke7 (77... Kf7 {does not save the day} 78. c7 Rf2+ 79. Kb3 Rf3 80. c8=Q Rxe3+
81. Kxb4 Rb3+ 82. Kxb3 Kg7 83. Qf8+ Kg6 84. Rh1 Kg5 85. Rg1+ Kh5 86. Qh8#) 78.
c7 Rf2+ (78... Rf8 {does not improve anything} 79. Rxf8 Kxf8 80. c8=Q+ Kg7 81.
Qe6 Kh7 82. Kb3 Kh8 83. Qh6+ Kg8 84. Kxb4 Kf7 85. Kc5 Ke7 86. Qg7+ Ke6 87. Qf8
Kd7 88. Qf7+ Kc8 89. Kc6 Kd8 90. Qf8#) 79. Kb3 (79. Kb3 Rf8 80. Rxf8 Kxf8 81.
c8=Q+ Kg7 82. Kxb4 Kg6 83. Qe6+ Kg7 84. Kc5 Kh8 85. Kd6 Kh7 86. Ke7 Kg7 87. Ke8
Kh7 88. Kf8 Kh8 89. Qg8#) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Shibuya, Kaisei"]
[Black "Sato, Tsubasa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1529"]
[BlackElo "1677"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "107"]

{C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 d6 7. Re1 Bg4 (7... O-O 8. Bb3 Bb6 9.
Nbd2 Ne7 10. Nf1 Ng6 11. Ng3 c6 12. h3 Be6 13. Bc2 Qc7 14. d4 Rad8 15. Be3 Rfe8
16. Qc1 Qe7 17. a4 c5 18. a5 Bc7 19. d5 Bd7 20. Ba4 Bxa4 21. Rxa4 Qd7 22. Ra3 {
Igonin,T (2274)-Abdusattorov,N (2193) Tashkent 2015 1/2-1/2 (50)}) 8. Nbd2 O-O
$146 (8... Bb6 9. Nf1 Qd7 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Na5 12. a4 Nxc4 13. dxc4 a5 14.
Ng3 Qe6 15. Nf5 Kf8 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 g6 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. exd5 Qf5 20. c5
Qxf3 21. gxf3 Kg7 22. Ra3 dxc5 23. Rxe5 {Hillarp Persson,T (2546)-Melkumyan,H 
(2649) London 2012 1/2-1/2 (87)}) 9. Nf1 Ne7 10. Bb3 c6 {Controls d5} 11. h3 {
White threatens to win material: h3xg4} Bh5 12. Ng3 Bg6 13. Nh4 Qb6 14. Qf3
Rae8 (14... Kh8 15. Bxh6 Bxf2+ 16. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 17. Kxf2 gxh6 18. Rf1 $14) 15.
Nxg6 Nxg6 16. Bxh6 $4 {White loses the upper hand} (16. Nf5 Kh7 $16) 16...
Bxf2+ $4 {a transit from better to worse} (16... Nh4 $142 17. Qe2 gxh6 $17) 17.
Qxf2 $16 Qxf2+ 18. Kxf2 gxh6 19. Nf5 Kh7 (19... Nf4 20. Rad1 $16) 20. Nxd6 Rd8
21. Nxb7 Rxd3 22. Nc5 Rd2+ 23. Re2 Rfd8 (23... Rxe2+ 24. Kxe2 Nf4+ 25. Kf3 $18)
24. g3 Kg7 25. Ke3 Rxe2+ 26. Kxe2 Nh5 27. Kf3 Rd2 (27... Kf8 $18) 28. Na4 $4 {
lets it slip away} (28. Rd1 $142 Rxb2 29. Rd7 $18) 28... Rd3+ $17 29. Ke2 (29.
Kf2 $5 Rxg3 30. Bd1 Rxh3 31. Bxh5 Rxh5 32. Rg1 $17) 29... Rxg3 30. Rf1 (30. Rd1
Ngf4+ 31. Ke1 Nd3+ 32. Kd2 Nf2 $19) 30... Nhf4+ $19 31. Kf2 $2 (31. Ke1 Re3+
32. Kd2 Rxh3 $19) 31... Rg2+ 32. Ke1 Rg3 {Black threatens to win material:
Rg3xh3} (32... Nd3+ $5 33. Kd1 Ngf4 34. Bc4 $19) 33. Nc5 $4 {releasing the
pressure on the opponent. The knight is not easily driven from c5} (33. Kf2
Rxh3 34. Bc4 $19) 33... Rxh3 (33... Re3+ 34. Kd2 Rxh3 35. Kc1 $19) 34. Bc2 (34.
Ba4 Re3+ 35. Kd1 h5 $19) 34... Re3+ $19 35. Kd1 (35. Kd2 Re2+ 36. Kd1 h5 $19)
35... h5 36. Nd3 $2 (36. Nb7 h4 37. Nd6 Kf6 $19) 36... Nxd3 37. Bxd3 (37. Kd2
Rh3 38. Bxd3 Rh2+ 39. Ke3 $19) 37... Rxd3+ 38. Ke2 (38. Kc2 {cannot undo what
has already been done} Re3 $19) 38... Nf4+ 39. Rxf4 (39. Ke1 {what else?} Re3+
40. Kf2 Re2+ 41. Kg1 Rxb2 42. a4 $19) 39... exf4 40. Kxd3 h4 41. Ke2 h3 42. Kf2
Kg6 (42... Kf6 {keeps an even firmer grip} 43. Kf3 Ke5 44. c4 $19) 43. c4 Kf6
44. Kf3 Ke5 45. b4 Kd4 46. c5 Kc4 47. a3 Kb3 (47... Kb5 48. Kxf4 h2 49. Kg3
h1=Q 50. e5 Qa1 51. Kf4 Qxa3 52. Kg4 Qe3 53. Kf5 Kxb4 54. e6 Qxe6+ 55. Kf4 a5
56. Kg5 a4 57. Kh4 Qg6 58. Kh3 Qg1 59. Kh4 f6 60. Kh3 f5 61. Kh4 Qg4#) 48. b5
$18 Kc3 49. bxc6 Kd3 $4 {terrible, but the game is lost in any case} (49... h2
50. Kg2 Kd2 51. Kxh2 f3 $18) 50. c7 h2 51. Kg2 f3+ 52. Kxh2 f2 53. c8=Q f1=Q
54. Qa6+ (54. Qa6+ Kd4 55. Qxf1 Kxc5 56. Qxf7 Kd4 57. Qd5+ Kc3 58. e5 a6 59. e6
a5 60. e7 Kb2 61. e8=Q Kxa3 62. Qh8 Kb4 63. Qb2+ Ka4 64. Qc4#) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Watanabe, Katsumi"]
[Black "Hakamada, Eiji"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E54"]
[WhiteElo "1732"]
[BlackElo "1432"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "115"]

{E54: Nimzo-Indian: Rubinstein: Main Line: 7...dxc4 8 Bxc4} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6
3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e3 d5 6. Be2 dxc4 7. Bxc4 c5 8. O-O cxd4 $146 (8...
Nc6 9. Bd3 (9. Qc2 cxd4 10. Rd1 a6 11. exd4 b5 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. d5 exd5 14. Nxd5
Nxd5 15. Rxd5 Qf6 16. Ng5 g6 17. Ne4 Qg7 18. Be3 Ne5 19. Rd4 Rac8 20. Qe2 Be7
21. Rad1 Bc6 22. f4 Nc4 23. Bxc4 bxc4 {Kulakov,V (2184)-Krilov,S (2406)
Dagomys 2004 1-0}) (9. Qd3 a6 10. a4 (10. a3 Bxc3 11. Qxc3 cxd4 12. exd4 Bd7
13. Qd3 Na5 14. Re1 Nxc4 15. Qxc4 Bc6 16. Ne5 Bb5 17. Qb4 Nd5 18. Qb3 Qa5 19.
Be3 f6 20. Nf3 Qa4 21. Nd2 b6 22. Rac1 Qxb3 23. Nxb3 Rfc8 24. Rxc8+ Rxc8 {
Mista,L (2355)-Prandstetter,E (2355) Rimavska Sobota 1974 0-1 (53)}) 10... Bd7
11. Rd1 cxd4 12. exd4 Na5 13. Ba2 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Bxa4 15. Re1 Bb3 16. Bb1 Bc4
17. Qc2 Bb3 18. Qd3 Bc4 {1/2-1/2 (18) Geller,E-Tal,M Riga 1968}) 9... Qe7 (9...
Bd7 10. a3 cxd4 11. exd4 Be7 12. Re1 Rc8 13. Bb1 Re8 14. Qd3 g6 15. Ba2 a6 16.
Bh6 Qa5 17. d5 exd5 18. Nxd5 Bf5 19. Rxe7 Rxe7 20. Nxf6+ Kh8 21. Qd2 Be6 22.
Nd5 Qxd2 23. Bxd2 Bxd5 24. Bc3+ {Gligoric,S (2585)-Pomar Salamanca,A (2425)
Nice 1974 1-0}) 10. Ne4 cxd4 11. exd4 h6 12. a3 Bd6 13. Re1 Rd8 14. b4 Nxe4 15.
Bxe4 Qf6 16. Bb2 Ne7 17. Ne5 Nd5 18. Qh5 Bf8 19. Rac1 Qe7 20. Qf3 f6 21. Nc4
Qf7 22. Qg3 f5 23. Ne5 {Najdorf,M-Eliskases,E Buenos Aires 1964 1-0 (41)}) 9.
Nxd4 Bd7 10. Qc2 Qc7 11. Ncb5 Bxb5 (11... Qb6 12. a3 Be7 13. Nc3 $11) 12. Nxb5
Qe5 13. Be2 Nc6 14. Bd2 a6 15. Bc3 Bxc3 16. Nxc3 Rac8 17. Rfd1 Rfd8 18. Qb3 {
White threatens to win material: Qb3xb7} Qc7 19. Bf3 h6 20. Rdc1 Qb8 21. h3 {
Covers g4} Qa7 22. a4 Na5 23. Qb4 b6 (23... Nc6 24. Qa3 $11) 24. Qa3 (24. Ne2
$5 $14) 24... Nc4 $11 {Black threatens to win material: Nc4xa3} 25. Qa2 Rd2 $4
{not a good decision, because now the opponent is right back in the game} (
25... Qe7 26. Be2 Qb4 27. Rc2 $11) 26. Rab1 {Loses material} (26. Nb1 $142 {
and the result of the game is clear: White will win} Rd6 27. Rxc4 $18) 26...
Ne5 $15 27. Bd1 (27. Qb3 $142 $5 $15 {is worth consideration}) 27... Nd3 $17
28. Rc2 Rxc2 (28... Nb4 $142 $5 29. Rxd2 Nxa2 30. Nxa2 b5 $17) 29. Bxc2 $11 Nb4
30. Qb3 Nxc2 31. Qxc2 Nd5 32. Qb3 (32. Qd3 Rc5 $11) 32... Nxc3 $15 33. bxc3 Qc7
(33... Rc6 34. Qc2 $15) 34. Rc1 (34. Qxb6 $5 Qc4 35. Rb4 Qxc3 36. Qxa6 $16)
34... Qc4 {Black threatens to win material: Qc4xb3} (34... Qd6 35. Qb2 $15) 35.
Qxb6 $11 Qxa4 {White has a new passed pawn: c3. Black has a new passed pawn:
a6.} 36. Qb2 Qc4 37. Ra1 Rc6 38. Qb4 Qb5 39. Qxb5 axb5 {A rook endgame occured.
} 40. Ra3 f5 41. Rb3 {White threatens to win material: Rb3xb5} Rc5 42. Kf1 Kf7
43. Ke2 e5 44. Kd3 Ke6 45. f3 g5 {[%cal Yf5f4] Black prepares the advance f4}
46. e4 f4 {This push gains space} 47. Ra3 Rc6 48. Ra7 Rd6+ (48... Kd6 $5 $11)
49. Kc2 $16 Rb6 $2 (49... h5 $142 $16) 50. Rh7 $18 Rb8 (50... Kd6 51. Rxh6+ Kc5
52. Rh8 $18) 51. Rxh6+ Kf7 52. Rd6 Rb7 (52... Ke7 53. Rg6 $18) 53. Kb3 Rb8 54.
Kb4 Rb7 55. Rd5 Ke6 56. Rxb5 Rc7 (56... Rd7 57. Rb6+ Kf7 $18) 57. Rb6+ Kf7 58.
c4 (58. c4 Rd7 59. c5 $18) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "5.5"]
[White "Sato, Takeru"]
[Black "Ito, Katsuhide"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "1230"]
[BlackElo "1328"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "57"]

{D00: 1 d4 d5: Unusual lines} 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 (4... c5
5. c3 Nc6 6. Nd2 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. f4 Bd7 9. a3 Ne7 10. Ngf3 Qb6 11. Rb1 Bb5
12. Qe2 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Nf5 14. Ne5 Nd6 15. O-O c4 16. Qc2 O-O 17. g4 Qc7 18. g5
Nfe4 19. Nxe4 {Zelbel,P (2385)-Svane,R (2427) Stroebeck 2013 1/2-1/2}) 5. Bxd6
(5. Bg3 Bxg3 6. hxg3 Qd6 7. c3 c5 8. Nd2 Nc6 9. f4 h5 10. Ngf3 Ng4 11. Qe2 f5
12. Ng5 Bd7 13. Bb5 Nd8 14. Ndf3 g6 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Qb6 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7
18. O-O-O Ke7 19. g4 fxg4 {Carvajal,N (2334)-Diaz,J (2175) Medellin 2015 0-1 
(52)}) 5... Qxd6 $146 (5... cxd6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nc6 8. Bb5 Qe7 9. Nc3 a6 10.
Be2 b5 11. a3 Bb7 12. h3 Na5 13. Nh2 Nc4 14. b3 Nb6 15. Ng4 Nfd7 16. f4 Rac8
17. Nb1 f5 18. Nh2 Nf6 19. Nd2 Rc3 20. Rf3 {Berlinka,M (2215)-Belfiore,D (2220)
Buenos Aires 1993 0-1 (41)}) 6. c3 O-O 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. O-O a6 {Consolidates b5}
9. Qe2 Re8 10. Nbd2 Bd7 11. h3 {Prevents intrusion on g4} e5 12. Nh2 (12. dxe5
Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 $11) 12... e4 {Black threatens to win material: e4xd3} (
12... exd4 $5 13. cxd4 Nxd4 $17) 13. Bc2 $15 Ne7 14. Kh1 {Black has an active
position} Ng6 {Black has a very active position} 15. Rg1 {Black has an active
position} Bb5 16. c4 dxc4 17. Nxc4 Qb4 {Black threatens to win material: Qb4xc4
} 18. b3 {Black has an active position} Rad8 19. a4 {White threatens to win
material: a4xb5} Bc6 20. Rgf1 b5 21. axb5 {White forks: a6+c6} Bxb5 22. g4 (22.
Qe1 $142 Qe7 23. Qa5 $15) 22... Ne5 $4 {hands over the advantage to the
opponent} (22... c5 $142 23. dxc5 Ne5 $17) 23. dxe5 $18 Bxc4 $2 (23... Rxe5 24.
Qe1 Qxe1 25. Rfxe1 Rc5 $18) 24. Qxc4 Nd5 (24... Qxc4 {does not help much} 25.
bxc4 Rxe5 26. Rxa6 $18) 25. Bxe4 Rxe5 (25... Qxc4 {is still a small chance} 26.
bxc4 Nb6 $18) 26. Bxd5 Qd2 (26... Qxc4 {otherwise it's curtains at once} 27.
bxc4 g6 $18) 27. Bxf7+ Kh8 28. Nf3 Re7 29. Nxd2 (29. Nxd2 Rb8 30. Nf3 Rf8 31.
Rxa6 h6 32. g5 Rexf7 33. gxh6 c6 34. Qxc6 Rf6 35. hxg7+ Kxg7 36. Rg1+ Kh8 37.
Qxf6+ Rxf6 38. Rxf6 Kh7 39. Rfg6 Kh8 40. Rh6#) 1-0

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Kimura, Kaisei"]
[Black "Manabe, Hiroaki"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B02"]
[WhiteElo "1009"]
[BlackElo "1755"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "60"]

{B02: Alekhine's Defence: Chase Variation and lines with early Nc3} 1. e4 Nf6
2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 4. Nxd5 Qxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Be2 (6. d4 e5 7. Be3 exd4 8.
Nxd4 a6 9. Nxc6 Qxc6 10. Qd4 Be7 11. O-O-O Bf6 12. Qb4 Be6 13. Bd3 a5 14. Qe4
Qxe4 15. Bxe4 O-O 16. Bd5 Rfe8 17. Bxe6 Rxe6 18. Rd7 Be5 19. Rhd1 Bd6 20. Bb6
Bf4+ {Musalov,R (2399)-Balashov,Y (2426) Taganrog 2011 1/2-1/2}) 6... e5 7. d3
{White has a cramped position} Bg4 $146 (7... Bf5 8. O-O O-O-O 9. a3 f6 10. b4
Kb8 11. Bb2 Nd4 12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Bf3 Qd7 14. g3 g5 15. Re1 Bg6 16. Bg2 g4 17.
Qd2 h5 18. Qf4 f5 19. Qe5 Bh6 20. Qe6 Qg7 21. Re5 Rd6 22. Qe7 {Vasic,P (2176)
-Raspor,G (2160) Portoroz 2003 1/2-1/2 (33)}) (7... Bc5 8. O-O O-O 9. c3 a5 10.
Qc2 Bg4 11. Be3 Rad8 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 Bb6 14. Bc4 Qh5 15. Ng5 Nxd4 16. Qe4
Bf5 17. Qxb7 Bg6 18. Rac1 h6 19. Nh3 Rb8 20. Qa6 Ra8 21. Qb7 Ra7 22. Qd5 {
Ivkovic,D (2257)-Roganovic,M (2244) Pancevo 2005 0-1 (37)}) 8. O-O {White
castles and improves king safety} O-O-O 9. c4 {White threatens to win material:
c4xd5} Qd7 10. b3 (10. Be3 Be7 $11) 10... h5 11. a3 {Consolidates b4} Qf5 12.
Nh4 (12. Be3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Rxd3 $15) 12... Bxe2 (12... Qh7 13. Nf3 $17) 13.
Nxf5 Bxd1 14. Rxd1 e4 (14... g6 15. Ne3 Nd4 $17) 15. d4 $2 (15. Bb2 $142 $5 {
has some apparent merit} exd3 16. Nxg7 $11) 15... g6 $17 16. Bg5 (16. Ne3 $142
$5 Bg7 17. Nd5 Nxd4 18. Bg5 $17) 16... gxf5 $19 17. Bxd8 Kxd8 18. d5 (18. Ra2
h4 $19) 18... Ne5 19. Re1 (19. Ra2 h4 $19) 19... Rg8 (19... h4 $142 $19 {
makes it even easier for Black}) 20. h3 (20. Re3 $19) 20... Nf3+ 21. Kf1 Nxe1
22. Rxe1 Bxa3 23. Ra1 Bc5 24. b4 Bd4 25. Rd1 (25. Ra5 {does not solve anything}
Ke7 $19) 25... Bc3 26. b5 f4 (26... Ke7 {and Black can already relax} 27. c5
$19) 27. d6 (27. h4 {is no salvation} Bb4 $19) 27... Rg6 28. c5 (28. Rc1 {
a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} Bb4 $19) 28... cxd6 29. cxd6 (
29. h4 {doesn't improve anything} Kd7 $19) 29... Kd7 30. Rc1 Ba5 0-1

[Event "Hokkaido Ch.2017"]
[Site "Sapporo"]
[Date "2017.03.26"]
[Round "5.7"]
[White "Koyahata, Taku"]
[Black "Sato, Yasuji"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "1349"]
[BlackElo "1555"]
[Annotator "Fritz 15 (30s)"]
[PlyCount "49"]

{C01: French: Exchange Variation} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. e3 Bb4+ 4. Nc3 exd4 5.
exd4 Nf6 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 O-O 8. Bd3 Re8+ $146 (8... b6 9. Bg5 (9. Ne2 Ba6
10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. O-O Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nc6 13. Bf4 Rac8 14. Rfe1 Rfe8 15. Ng3
Rxe1+ 16. Rxe1 Re8 17. Re3 Qd7 18. h3 Rxe3 19. Bxe3 h6 20. c4 Na5 21. Bd2 Qa4
22. Bxa5 Qxa5 23. Kf1 Qa4 {Miezis,N (2558)-Cobb,C (2398) Ohrid 2009 1-0 (38)})
9... Ba6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Qh5 g6 12. Qxd5 Nc6 13. Qf3 Rae8+ 14. Kf1 Qd6 15.
Ne2 Na5 16. Kg1 Bxc4 17. Bxc4 Nxc4 18. h4 Re7 19. Qd3 b5 20. a4 Rfe8 21. Ng3 c6
22. axb5 cxb5 23. h5 {Schulz,K (2440)-Hertneck,G (2450) Altensteig 1987 0-1 
(40)}) (8... dxc4 9. Bxc4 Be6 (9... Qe8+ 10. Ne2 Be6 11. d5 Bf5 12. O-O Nbd7
13. Ng3 Bg6 14. f4 h6 15. f5 Bh7 16. Re1 Qd8 17. Ba2 Nb6 18. c4 Qd7 19. Qf3
Rfe8 20. Bb2 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Re8 22. Rf1 Qd6 23. Qf2 Nbd7 24. Qd4 {Jahn,C (2235)
-Grabuzova,T (2320) Dresden 1994 1-0 (37)}) 10. Bd3 c5 11. Ne2 Nc6 12. O-O cxd4
13. cxd4 Nd5 14. Rb1 Qd7 15. Be3 Rac8 16. Qd2 Rfd8 17. Rfc1 Nce7 18. Ng3 Rxc1+
19. Rxc1 Rc8 20. Ne4 Rxc1+ 21. Qxc1 b6 22. Ng5 Bf5 23. Be2 {Bartel,M (2641)
-Antoniewski,R (2529) Poland 2015 1/2-1/2 (33)}) 9. Ne2 Ng4 (9... dxc4 $5 {
should be investigated more closely} 10. Bxc4 Nc6 $11) 10. O-O $14 {White
castles and improves king safety} Qh4 (10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nc6 12. Qc2 $14) 11.
h3 Nf6 12. Nf4 g5 $4 {strolling merrily down the path to disaster} (12... dxc4
$142 13. Bxc4 Ne4 $16) 13. Nxd5 $18 Nxd5 14. cxd5 g4 (14... Nd7 15. Re1 Nf6 16.
Rxe8+ Nxe8 17. Qe2 $18) 15. Re1 Rf8 (15... Bd7 {doesn't do any good} 16. hxg4
Na6 17. Rb1 Rxe1+ 18. Qxe1 $18) 16. Re3 (16. Re5 $142 {might be the shorter
path} f5 17. hxg4 $18) 16... gxh3 (16... a5 $18 {there is nothing else anyway})
17. Rg3+ Kh8 18. Bg5 Qxg3 (18... h2+ {is not the saving move} 19. Kh1 Bg4 20.
Qxg4 f5 21. Qxh4 Nd7 22. Bh6 Rf7 23. Qg5 Ne5 24. dxe5 Re8 25. Bg7+ Kg8 26. Bf6+
Rg7 27. Qxg7#) 19. fxg3 (19. Bf6+ Qg7 20. Qh5 h2+ 21. Kxh2 Kg8 22. Bxg7 f5 23.
Qg5 Nc6 24. Bh6+ Kf7 25. Qg7+ Ke8 26. Qxf8+ Kd7 27. Bxf5#) 19... f6 (19... f5 {
doesn't get the bull off the ice} 20. Qh5 h2+ 21. Kxh2 Nc6 22. Re1 Be6 23. Rxe6
Kg8 24. dxc6 Rf7 25. Re7 Rxe7 26. Bc4+ Kh8 27. Bf6+ Rg7 28. Qf7 bxc6 29. Bxg7#)
20. Qh5 f5 21. Re1 Bd7 (21... h2+ {does not improve anything} 22. Kh1 Nc6 23.
Re8 Kg8 24. Bh6 Bd7 25. Qg5+ Kf7 26. Qg7+ Kxe8 27. Qxf8#) 22. Re7 h2+ 23. Kxh2
Rf7 (23... h6 {is not much help} 24. Qxh6+ Kg8 25. Qg7#) 24. Qxf7 f4 (24... Nc6
{hardly improves anything} 25. Qxh7#) 25. Qxh7# 1-0

